


Wicked Game

by 1MissMolly



Category: James Bond (Movies), James Bond - All Media Types, London Spy
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Bonding Heats, Developing Relationship, Inspired by Music, M/M, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-08
Updated: 2018-07-28
Packaged: 2019-05-19 18:37:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 18
Words: 63,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14879096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1MissMolly/pseuds/1MissMolly
Summary: Danny Holt watches as his bond-mate is gunned downed on the streets of London. A suspected traitor and now Danny is thought to be a traitor too. It doesn't matter he is also the Quartermaster of MI6.Can Bond rescue his Quartermaster or will he also be accused of being a traitor? There is still a threat out there that want the information that Q has and before Bond can prove Q's innocence he has to save his life.





	1. The World was on Fire

 

_“World was on fire and no one could save me but you.”_

The explosion was loud. The Quartermaster winced as the sound came through the speakers and into the bull pen of Q Branch. He adjusted his glasses as he tapped one handed on his keyboard. Q didn’t look up to see if his minions were doing their job. He knew they would be, regardless of what they heard during a mission.

“007, report.”

Silence.

“007? Status report.” The silence dragged out. Using both hands, Q tapped on several keys as his breath was trapped in his chest. Finally, Q glanced up at the computer screens on the wall, locating the dot of the second agent. “006, can you make it back to Bond?”

The sound of gun fire reverberated in the room. Alec Trevelyan’s husky voice came over the speakers. “A little preoccupied here, Q.” More gun fire sounded.

“I’m fine.” James Bond’s voice came on the line cutting out the sound of the gun fight Alec was in. Q breathed.

“Bloody well better be, James. I’m not going back in there to carry your sorry arse out.” Alec said. The shooting had stopped but Alec’s voice was strained.

“006, are you hurt?” Q asked.

“Nothing a leggy blond couldn’t fix.” Alec said back into the microphone.

“007, report.” Q switch his attention back to Bond.

“Servers are destroyed. Markov dead.” Bond’s voice was breathy.

“Are you injured?” Q asked catching the sound of pain coming through the transmission.

“I prefer brunettes.”

Bond was leaning against the wall in the hallway. The air was cloudy with smoke and dust from the explosion. Q had warned him to not be too close to the bomb when it went off, but Markov had delayed by him with trying to kill Bond. The agent barely made it out of the room when the bomb detonated. His ears were ringing and he was having difficulty catching his breath. The heat from the fire was at his back and he knew he need to get moving if he planned to get out of the building alive.

He took a single step forward and nearly fell. His hand dragged across the wall to steady himself. Blood smeared across the white paint. His right leg throbbed. Bond looked down to see the jagged edge of a piece of metal framing sticking out of his thigh. Blood was oozing slowly from the wound and staining his grey trousers.

A second explosion shook the building. The blast pushed Bond forward. His feet tripped over debris as he propelled himself down the ruined hallway. His hand dragged down the wall as it steadied him. A trail of bloody fingerprints directed any pursuer right to him.

“Q, exfil!” Bond’s voice was getting stronger the further he moved away from the fire and the destruction.

“At the end of the hall is the door for the stairs. Go down two flights and exit.”

Alarms in the building started to blare and the sprinkler system had kicked on. Cool water rained down on Bond as he reached the door for the stairs. His wet bloody hand slipped on the door handle once before he could properly open the door. Bond stumbled onto the landing of the stairs. He paused for a moment and listened. There were shouts but they were not in the stairwell above or below him. He heard gunfire in the distance and another explosion.

“James, it’s almost closing time. Last call.” Alec said. Q and Bond, both could hear the huffing of the big Russian. Alec was running.

“I won’t be stuck with the tab for this one. Don’t worry.” Bond said.

“007, run down those stairs. I have unlocked the exit doors.” Q’s clear precise diction cut through the men’s joking.

“Run down? More likely to fall down the stairs.” Alec said.

“I’ll show you, or maybe you’re better at running with a piece of metal stuck in your thigh, Alec.”

Bond took the first two steps then just as Alec had predicted, fell down the first flight of stairs. Crashing into the wall, Bond brought his arms up to protect his head as he bounced against concrete. Standing again, he steadied himself and then moved to the second flight of stairs. This time, he moved slower while he gripped the railing.

“Com’on, old man. Time to move your butt!” Alec’s voice growled over the feed at him.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself.” James said. Alec grunted.

Bond pushed on the exit door and it quickly opened. He stumbled out into the sunshine, as he raised his hand up to block the sun. The gunshot came from his right. The bullet punched into his right arm, his body twisted around. In his weakened state, Bond couldn’t remain on his feet. He collapsed with a grunt.

“007?” Q listened to the sound of heavy breathing. More gunshots were heard.

He rapidly typed and started to move the extraction team forward.

“007, report.” Silence. “Damn it, Bond! Answer me!” 

“It almost sounds like you care, Q.” Bond said.

Q released his breath.

“Can you get yourself to the exfil site?” Q asked. “Extraction team ETA three minutes.”

“For you, Q . . . anything.” Bond said, then groaned as he pulled himself back up to his feet. He stepped over the dead body of the man he had just shot.

“Anything? I sincerely doubt that.” Q said as his shoulders sagged slightly upon hearing his agent moving again.

Bond was trying to run now but it was difficult with the six inch shard of metal embedded in his right thigh. He knew he couldn’t pull it out, or he would bleed to death before he reached the helicopter.

“Tell me, Q, how could I alleviate your doubts of my sincerity?” Bond asked teasingly.

“Another word I don’t believe you understand the mean of - ‘sincerity’.”

“My vocabulary regarding ‘sin’ is quite vast, Q. Let me show you.” Bond’s voice dipped low and seductive.

“I’m sure my bondmate would be quite put out by your inept attempt to teach me anything regarding language.” Q said as he checked on the extraction team’s progress.

“Three-way, not my style, Q. I prefer one on one tutelage. But I’ve an open mind.” Bond quibbled back.

“Q . . .” M’s deep voice cut over Bond’s flirting.

Q glanced over his shoulder at his boss and Tanner both standing behind him. A slight blush coloured Q’s cheeks.

“Sir . . . all in jest. If it gets him moving to the exfil, I can tolerate a little sexual harassment.” Q said calmly.

“Let’s try to keep this professional.” M said as he dipped his chin down and glared at the young omega.

“Sir.” Q turned back around and glanced at the various computer screens in front of him. The drone image of the extraction site, and the two satellite images of the burning building. “006 and 007, how long until you reach the extraction team?”

“See, James. He likes me better.” Alec said.

“Just because you are one number smaller than me doesn’t mean he likes you better.” James argued back.

“Stop it. I’m equally repulsed by both of you.” Q said. “ETA?”

“I see the site now. One minute.” Alec said.

Q could see Alec running towards the extraction site on the drone’s feed. Just as the helicopter landed, Bond shuffled into view.

“007?! What’s wrong!?” Q tried not to shout but his voice betrayed his concern upon seeing the man move.

“I wasn’t joking about that piece of metal stuck in my leg, Q. Do keep up with the grownups’ conversation.”

“It’s that language problem again, James. You don’t speak the same one as the adolescence of today.” Alec teased.

“I’ll have you know that I’ve been called a ‘cunning linguistic’ by a very knowledgeable individual.”

“Moneypenny was just being kind to an old man.” Alec said.

Q glanced over his shoulder again at M. The older alpha frowned as he crossed his arms over his chest. Tanner seemed apprehensive and forced himself to look neutral.

Bond limped up to the door of the helicopter and the crewman from inside the chopper jumped out and helped Bond up onto the deck. Q watched as Bond fell back onto the floor as the helicopter lifted off the ground. Just as it did, several armed combatants rushed forward, shooting. The rounds ricocheted off the fuselage as the helicopter turned and lifted out of range.

“White Bishop to Castle. White Bishop to Castle. We have White knight and Red knight on board.” The voice of the head of the extraction team came over the speaker in the bull pen.

“Status . . .” Q asked. His voice much calmer sounding than the young omega actually was.

“007, GSW to right upper arm. Metal shard embedded in right thigh. Other than that, normal wear and tear.” The extraction team leader said.

Q could hear Trevelyan and Bond laughing. “You hear that, James. Black eyes, bruised knuckles and singed hair is normal wear and tear for a double ‘O’.”

“006, just a pain in the arse.” Said the team leader.

“Concur.” Q agreed.

Both double ‘O’s stopped laughing and tried to sound hurt. “Q, how could you doubt our devotion?” Alec asked.

“As easily as I doubt you will be returning with any of your equipment intact.” Q replied.

“There you go again, worrying about my ‘equipment’. I will have no problems in letting you personally verify its working order when I return from this mission.” Bond teased.

“Mission status.” Barked M over the other men.

“Sir,” the tone in Bond’s voice changed from jesting to serious, instantly. “The servers are destroyed. They won’t be using them again for hacking. Markov is dead.”

“Did you at least question him before you killed him?” M asked as he raised an accusatory eyebrow at the disembodied voice.

“He was trying to strangle me at the time. Didn’t have time for a chat.” Bond replied.

“So we still don’t know who is responsible for setting up this cyberterrorist organization?” M growled.

“No sir, and I don’t believe the Russians were involved.” Bond said.

On the helicopter, Bond glanced over at Trevelyan. The tall Russian frowned but nodded his head in agreement.

“I agree with 007. Not FSB or any other member of the legitimate Russian government.” Trevelyan added.

“Then who?” M asked.

“Not sure, but someone want it to look like it was a Russian sponsored hack. Markov was only a front man. Hired muscle. He didn’t know anything about hacking or economic terrorism.” Bond said as the medic slipped a syringe of morphine into Bond’s vein.

The plunger was depressed and Bond felt the initial burn as the chemicals entered his body. Then a tingling warmth filled him from his stomach out. He closed his eyes as the first wave crashed into him. Slight nausea made worse by the motion of the helicopter. Bond felt his muscles quickly give in and he began to feel weightless. He leaned his head back against the bulkhead. He felt Alec’s hand rest on his shoulder.

“We have no idea who hired Markov or who is funding this. It could still be the Russians.” M said.

Bond opened his eyes and glanced up at Alec. The tall Russian shook his head, ‘no’. M was not there and he hadn’t learned yet to trust what his two agents and their intuition.

“Get back here for debriefing and we will see if there is anything we can salvage out of this mess.” M said.

Bond and Trevelyan rolled their eyes together. Bond reached up and yanked the earwick from his ear and tossed it out of the open door of the helicopter.

“Q will be angry at you for that.” Alec said with a smirk.

“Let the little omega give me a thorough dressing down.” James said. A broad smile came to him. “Then later, maybe I can convince him to undress for me.”

Alec laughed and slid down the bulkhead to sit next to his friend.

“Didn’t you hear the comment about the bondmate?” Alec asked.

“As if that ever was a deterrence. Bondmate or not, I haven’t met an omega who could resist our charms.” Bond said with a lopsided smile.

Alec glance up at the medic working on Bond’s leg. The caramel skinned beta hadn’t seemed to have heard the very inappropriate comment about their Quartermaster. Alec leaned in closer and spoke softer into James’ ear.

“Careful, брат. The котенок has ears.” 

Bond smiled and let the morphine pull him under.

 

 

брат Brother

котенок kitten

 


	2. Strange What Desires

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alistair Tuner meets Uri Sokolov

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story has a slow build. Please be patient with me.

_“It’s strange what desires will make foolish people do.”_

Alistair Turner glanced around the café and studied the faces of the customers. He didn’t recognize any of them but that didn’t mean he wasn’t under surveillance. He hated to have a meeting like this in a public place, but his handler insisted on this spot.

Alistair, or Alex as he preferred to be called, slowly sipped his coffee and looked down at the danish in front of him. It looked stale and very unappetizing. The glaze was smeared, and the bit of fruit filling peeking out appeared rubbery. He sneered at it as he pushed the plate back.

The new arrival laughed when he sat down and saw Alex’s face.

“Why do you insist on this place?” Alex asked. “The food is horrible.”

The man who had just joined him, smiled at the waitress as she brought him his coffee and pastry. The waitress was buxom with bleached blond hair. Her obvious curves were barely contained in her uniform that was two sizes two small.

“It has its compensations.” He watched as the woman swayed back behind the counter. She turned and winked at the man.

“Uri, we are exposed here.” Alex said as he leaned over the table and whispered to the man.

Uri Sokolov waved his hand dismissively. He picked up his coffee cup and looked down into the muddy contents.

“You are over estimating your MI6 and MI5. They are incompetent. You are not under observation. They know nothing about you.” Uri Sokolov said. He took a sip of coffee and then frowned. He set the cup back down in its saucer and pushed it back. “You are completely safe.”

Alex glanced around the room to see if anyone heard them. No one seemed to be watching the two men. Alex shifted his chair to sit closer to Uri.

“They know that the servers destroyed in Belarus were not FSB or the Russians.” Alex said.

Uri raised an eyebrow. “Why didn’t you tell us sooner about the mission to go in and destroy them? We lost several good hackers and those servers were important. We will have to relocate again.”

“I only found out about the mission after the men left. I don’t have complete access to everything. Especially not information about the Double ‘O’s.” Alex said.

“If you want our help you need to supply us with timely information. We can’t just wait around for you tell us things we have already learned first-hand. How can I convince my superiors of your value and importance if you won’t help me?” Uri leaned forward and rested his elbows on the Formica table.

“I’m trying. But I can’t keep this up much longer. Danny will catch on. I don’t want him to know what I’m doing until we leave. I don’t want to lose him.” Alex said.

“He is your bondmate. You won’t lose him.” Uri said condescendingly.

“Danny is different from me. He is innocent.”

“And you love him . . .”

“Of course, I do. I’m doing this for both of us. So, we can be free of them. He just won’t understand. I need to make sure we are safe before I tell him. If I get a chance to make him understand then he will agree with me and everything will be fine.” Alex said.

Uri watched the younger alpha. He knew the young man was trying to convince himself as much as he was trying to convince Uri. It was hard for the boy to come to grips with idea he was betraying his country. He was still idealistic and believed in right and wrong. Uri was older and had to ignore any distinctions of good and evil for his own survival. His patience for the young man was beginning to wear thin.

“We need to know how much MI6 knows about the Belarus faction. Do they know how the money was funneled to them and by who? Does your M and Quartermaster know who the next person in command is?” Uri spoke softly. His own eyes now moving across the crowded café.

Alex nodded his head. “The worm is already downloaded. I will do the ‘scrape’ tomorrow. After that you need to get me and Danny out of England. I will give you everything.”

Uri looked carefully at the man, then frowned. “Impossible. We will need at least a week to make the arrangements. Do the scrape. But we will want more.”

“Like what?” Alex asked. The program he had secretly installed into the MI6’s mainframe was designed to find specific information regarding the terrorist hackers and the plans for dealing with them. If different information was needed, his worm wouldn’t be able to locate it. He would have to program a new one.

“We are working with various groups around the world with the same ideology as our own. Free trade of knowledge. Open boarders for all intellectual works. The British Intelligence and the American CIA are working against us. They have planted their spies amongst us. We need to stop them.” Uri said.

Alex leaned forward again. He felt a surge of self-esteem go through him at the mention of intellectual dogma. Alex didn’t know, he was being tricked into believing that was also Uri and his group’s ideology.

“We need the names of the embedded agents.” Uri’s voice dropped lower and softer. Alex struggled to hear it, but he did.

His stomach did a flip and he felt sudden fear snap through him. “Names? Why?”

“You know why. We need to protect ourselves. So, we can protect you and Danny.” Uri whispered back.

“But I never offered you names before . . . you never asked . . . that would make me a traitor.”

Uri glanced around the small café again. When he was satisfied no one was paying them any attention he spoke.

“You don’t need to give us the names. You can use them as leverage to get yourself and Danny out of England and to somewhere safe. Safe from both sides.”

“Venezuela?”

“If that is where you want to go, yes. Afterward, when you feel safe . . . you can give us the names.”

Alex leaned back in his seat. He knew as soon as he didn’t come into work, MI6 would go to his flat to check on him. When they realized that he and Danny were gone, then they would quickly check to see what he had access to. They would find the worm. They would find out he had scraped the information from the servers. They would react. If he delayed long enough, the names would be worthless to Uri and his friends.

“Alright, I’ll do it. But give me a few more days. I will need to write new code.” Alex said.

“How long?”

Alex thought for a moment. If he did this at home, Danny would see what he was doing. He would have to write the code at work. It had taken him almost a month to design the worm that he was using now. A new one didn’t need to be as undetectable as the first but still need to give him the ability to steal the information and escape before it was found. Although, the longer he waited to leave the greater the chance he would be found out.

Alex took another sip of the bitter coffee and winced at the taste.

“Ten days . . . no more than two weeks.”

Uri studied the younger man ‘s face for a moment. “Two weeks and you will contact me that you have the information. Within an hour of your phone call, you and your bondmate will be taken out of England in a plane. We will take you to Lisbon first and from there, Caracas. Agreed?’’

“Agreed.” Alex said.

“But I want to know your progress. We will meet next week . . . the Student Union. The north side. I will find you.”

Alex nodded.

“Now, go . . . I want to chat up the lovely waitress.” Uri turned and smiled at the Rubenesque woman who eagerly returned his smile.

~Q~

Alistair Turner returned to offices at MI6. It was a windowless hole within the complex of Riverhouse. One of many, inhabited by mindless drones who worked for the British government in the foolish belief they were doing good.

Alistair sat down and stared at his blank computer screen. This was the first time that Uri had asked him for anything. This was the first time Alistair questioned what he was doing.

He eyes shifted to the right and the photo of himself with his bondmate, Danny Holt. It was taken while they were still both at Uni. Danny was looking at Alex, instead of the camera. His hazel green eyes wrinkled up with a broad smile that showed his white teeth. His slender nose pulled up into a small button as he was captured just of the cusp of laughter. Alex loved that photo of them. Young and idealistic. Long before they were recruited by MI6. Before they became part of the problem instead of the solution.

But Alex was going to change that. He shook himself out of his fears and turned his computer back on. He assured himself he was not a ‘bad guy’. He was not a traitor to his county. He was not spying for the enemy. As he saw it, the British government had become the enemy. Their eagerness to fall into line with America’s imperialist plans had cause the problem. Uri and his associates hadn’t sought Alex out. He had gone looking for them. As a data analyst for MI6, Alex had access to information regarding everything that England considered a threat. He compiled the information and reviewed it. Looking for similarities and patterns. Finding the dangers in the shadows before others were sent out to remove them.

That is how Alex first learned of Uri Sokolov. He was looking at data regarding a recent increase in hacking incursions in the British banking system. Not just the banks, themselves, but also credit card companies and digital currencies. MI6 had traced the hacks to Belarus and to Russia, but Alex saw something else. He saw the false trail, but he didn’t notify his superiors. Instead, he chose to contact the criminals.

He learned that Sokolov and his associates believe like he did. Believed in a better world. One without secrets and secret agents. One where, no one need to live in fear and everyone lived in peace. Alex truthfully believed that the only way to a lasting peace was the elimination of all borders, both physical and intellectual. Only through free exchange of all the resources could greed and avaricious be eliminated. With them gone, then the world could live in harmony. Alex wanted that world for him and his bondmate to live in.

It would be difficult, but future generations would hail him as a hero. One of the saviors of society. Danny wouldn’t understand now, but as soon as they were away from England and MI6, he could explain everything to him. Danny would still love him. And they would still be together.

Alex hated secrets. He hated keeping this from his bondmate, but it was Danny who had forced this decision. Danny was the one who had put up secrets in their relationship. Making his career more important that his life to Alex. Danny had insisted they never speak openly about their jobs. Never tell one another what they were doing or why. Danny was cleaver – more cleaver than Alex. He had gotten the position at MI6 with the higher clearance and more secrets. The damnable secrets that now were separating Alex from his omega. Alex burned inside with anger at being told he couldn’t know what his omega was doing. He was an alpha. He was the one who supposed to take care of Danny. Keep him safe and protected. He hated the fact that not only others, but Danny himself, felt the need to protect Alex.

Alex slipped in the thumb drive that he had placed the initial worm on. He would write a new worm to scrape information off the MI6 servers, specifically looking for information on embedded agents. Then he would take Danny away. He would show Danny that he could protect him and keep him safe. After this was over and he had a chance to speak honestly with his bondmate, Danny would understand.

 _‘Danny loves me. He’s my omega. He will thank me.’_ Alex told himself as he began to design the new program.  


	3. Someone like you

_“I never dreamed that I’d meet somebody like you.”_

Danny Holt was working in his office when his bondmate, Alex Turner came in. The young omega looked up and smiled. His jade green hazel eyes looked out from behind his hipster glasses. The gold flecks in the irises seemed to shine as he smiled.

“Oh, thank God. Are you ready to leave?” The Quartermaster of MI6 asked Alex.

Alex closed Q’s office door and stepped over to the chair in front of the young man’s desk.

“You’re the one who is always working late. Are you ready?” Alex said as he set his backpack on the floor next to his chair.

“Absolutely. And nothing is on the threat board, so we have the whole weekend to ourselves.” Q stood up and grabbed his own messenger bag. He grabbed some files and his personal laptop and slipped them into the bag. “Let’s go. I’m starving.”

The two men walked out of the Riverhouse and towards the Vauxhall Tube Station. The two men stood in the crowd gathered on the platform waiting for the train. Danny kept talking about plans he had made for the weekend, while Alex’s mind was fixed on the wrapped present in his backpack. The mass of people shoved the two men into the car. Neither Alex or Danny could get a seat. Regardless, Danny was happy because he could stand closer to his bondmate and continue to talk.

“I want to sleep in tomorrow, but on Sunday, I want us to take a drive north. Or maybe to Bath?”

“Bath? Together? Our tub isn’t big enough.” Alex said as he finally caught a snippet of Danny’s conversation.

Danny laughed and leaned in to kiss his bondmate’s cheek. “Silly . . . the town of Bath.”

A slight blush came to Alex’s hollow cheeks. He looked down into Danny’s open face and saw nothing but utter and complete love.

“I’m sorry. I’ve been thinking about work. What were you saying?”

“We promised each other not to talk about or think about work when we are away from there.” Danny scolded while a glint of laughter was still in his eyes.

Alex sighed. If anyone was guilty of breaking that rule, it was Danny. When he was home, if he was home, is mind was always buzzing with a mission or the newest prototype in his lab. He was always leaving the room to make a phone call to his second in command or inquiring about an agent out on assignment. Somewhere in the past ten years, Alex had lost his bondmate to the demands of the Quartermaster. Alex hated it.

They made it to their stop at Brixton and departed with the crowd. They detoured from the normal walk to their home to pick up some takeaway from Danny’s favorite restaurant, ‘Gabriella’. A large extended family ran the Italian restaurant and Danny had made friends with both the mother and sister of the original Gabriella.

Danny entered and smiled at ‘Mama Rosa’ who was sitting at the cash register. The elderly plump woman waved her arms in greeting. The flabby upper arms waved like bat wings as she slipped off her stool and rushed around the counter to hug Danny.

“Danny! Neonato! Good news?” Mama Rosa gushed. (baby boy)

Alex glanced at his partner confused by the comment. Danny blushed and looked down at his feet. Alex could feel a wave of disappointment come off the young omega.

“No, Mama. Not yet.”

“But soon? Yes?” She hugged the young man again.

“You will be the first to know . . . I mean after us of course.” Danny said looking up with a lopsided smile on his face.

The older woman kissed Danny’s face and turned to glare at Alex. The alpha towered over the short Italian woman, but he was taken back by how frightening she could look.

“You take good care of this boy. He is a good boy who will be a wonderful papa.” Mama Rosa’s accent was heavy and lyrical.

“Yes, ma’am.” Alex nodded his head.

Danny laughed at his bondmate’s fearful expression and leaned into the Alex’s lean body.

“He does, Mama Rosa. Don’t worry. Alex is the best mate ever.” Danny gushed.

The older omega pulled a questionable look on her face for affect then smiled at the two boys.

“A table?” she asked.

“No, takeaway please. I called it in before we left worked.”

“And here it is.” Came the booming voice of Anthony, the owner of Gabriella and husband to Mama Rosa. Anthony was in his seventies but still looked like he could throw a soccer hooligan out the window if he needed to. He was short like his wife, but his arms still looked strong and his tanned face was deeply lined with set wrinkles. His bright blue eyes shined out at the two men as he approached.

“I included a bottle of Chianti. You never remember to order wine. What is a meal without wine?” Anthony said.

Danny smiled as Alex took the box with the food in it.

“Thank you, Anthony and Mama Rosa.” Danny reached into his pocket and took out his credit card.

Mama Rosa waved it away while Anthony grabbed it. He walked around the counter and to the cash register.

“Anthony, tesoro, they are family . . .” Mama Rosa protested. (darling)

“Not my family. And my family still pays.”

Alex finally smiled. This was a common experience at this restaurant for the two of them. He sadly thought that after they fled, they would never see the husband and wife again. Danny stepped forward and quickly signed the receipt. Handing it back to Anthony, he said.

“Thank you, again. We’ll probably see you next week.”

“Do so. I will be making pesche ripiene.” Anthony waved his right hand above his head in a grand gesture.

Alex and Danny looked confused.

“Stuffed peaches.” Mama Rosa leaned over to say to the two young men. “Big deal.” She scoffed.

Alex and Danny couldn’t stop themselves so laughed. Anthony frowned as Mama Rosa joined them in laughing.

“I promise,” Danny said. “We’ll be here. Sounds delicious.”

Anthony swatted at them to leave as he grumbled in Italian. Mama Rosa captured Danny’s face between her two hands and kissed each of his cheeks.

“Go my darlings. I will see you soon.” She said as Alex turned to leave with Danny quickly joining him.

“I love this place. I love London. I can’t imagine living anywhere else, can you?” Danny said as he fell into step with Alex.

Alex remained silent.

~Q~

Alex leaned against the counter in their kitchen as he watched Danny spoon out the risotto onto plates for them. Anthony had supplied them a large salad and a loaf of bread as well as the bottle of wine.

“Open the wine, will you?” Danny said as he carefully put the salad in large bowl.

Alex grabbed the bottle of chianti around the neck and removed the seal. His hands working independently from his eyes. Alex watched his bondmate move around him in their small kitchen. It was a dance they had perfected over the years. Memories of Uni came back to him. The day he first met Danny while he was out running. How hopeless and frightened Danny had looked. Alex asked him if he was alright.

_‘I’m always alright, ask anyone,’_ had been Danny’s response but it was obvious he wasn’t. Then later, Danny had sought out Alex. Waited for him to jog by again. They talked. Danny was the first person to ever actually talk to Alex, not just lecture to him or question him. But just talked. Danny was light and exuberant. Alive in a world where Alex felt dead. Danny bought his world to Alex and for the first time in his life, Alex was happy.

He had a friend. He was a friend. The first few weeks together were wonderful and special. Then one night, Danny took Alex by the hand and led him to his bedroom. And after that, they were lovers. Caring and devoted. They had been together for six months before Alex made the tentative suggestion of bonding. It seemed to surprise Danny.

_‘Are you sure?’_ Danny had asked.

_‘I always expected to be alone. I don’t want to be alone. I want to be with you.’_ Alex had replied.

Danny didn’t answer him but looked at his lover with nothing but complete and total admiration. They bonded before they graduated from Uni. Alex in Mathematics and Danny in Engineering. They were immediately interviewed by MI6. Alex had often wondered if the only reason he was hired was because of Danny. Danny was useful one. He was the smarter of the two of them.

But Alex was the alpha. He was the one who was supposed to take care of his omega. He was who was supposed to protect him.

Then the secrets started. Danny couldn’t tell Alex what he did. He couldn’t share his work day with his alpha. He had to leave their home in the middle of night when MI6 called. And it might be days before he would see Danny again.

Alex hated it. He hated the secrets and the feeling he was losing Danny. He hated not knowing what his omega was doing. He hated MI6. When he realized that, he sought out Uri Sokolov and his associated. He sought out a way to save his omega and recue England from the clutches of an evil ideology.

Alex felt the brush of lips against his own.

“Aren’t you done yet?” Danny asked.

Alex’s eyes focus on his bondmate’s eyes. Danny was standing in front of the young alpha. A simple smile on his face. Alex glanced down at the unopened bottle of wine still in his hands.

“Oh, sorry. I was distracted.” Alex said as he turned away from Danny and towards the counter.

He set the bottle down and picked up the metal corkscrew. He started to open the bottle.

“Distracted? By what?” Danny asked as he went over and sat down.

Alex quickly joined him.

“When you said you couldn’t imagine living any where else but here, were you telling the truth?”

Danny pouted. “Well, yes and no. I couldn’t believe living anywhere other than London, but when we start to have pups . . . this flat is too small. We will have to move.”

“Pups . . .” Alex hummed.

Danny heard Alex. “What’s wrong?”

“Are you just saying that? Do you really want pups?”

Danny glanced up, concerned. “Of course I do! Why wouldn’t I?”

“You’re hardly here. You’re always running off or staying late at work. If we have pups, are you really going to be able to be here as a papa?”

“Well, I thought we could get a nanny, like most Londoners. And you will be here. It’s not like I’m doing this alone. You will be there to pick up the slack.” Danny offered to Alex’s argument.

“Yeah, stupid me. Not as important as the Quartermaster. I should give up my job so you can save England.”

“Alex, what’s wrong? You do still want to have pups, don’t you? I mean, we were planning to, and I was hoping . . .” he trailed off.

Alec finished opening the bottle and turned around to see the concerned expression on his bondmate’s face. It physically pained him he had to hurt the man he loved.

“Yes, that’s why I’ve been insisting you take those herbal supplements I got you.” Alex lied.

Danny glanced down and to the side.

“About those. They really make my stomach hurt now. Do you really think they work? I mean, it’s been five months and they didn’t work on the last heat and my next one is in a few weeks.”

“They are herbal. Better than those vitamins the NHS gives out. Trust me.” Alex said unable to look his bondmate in the eye.

Danny sagged in his chair. “Okay. I can live with them for six more weeks. But after that, if I’m not banged up, then we go see a real doctor, okay?”

Alex believed in six weeks they would be out of the country. Danny’s next heat would be while they were on the run.

“Agreed.” Alex said as he reached across the table and took Danny’s hand. The young omega smiled back at him. “I have a present for you.”

Danny’s eyes grew large and brightened. “You do!?”

Alex stood up and went into the sitting room. His backpack was on the couch where he had dropped it when they came in. He reached into the bag and pulled out the wrapped package. He went back into the kitchen and handed it to Danny.

Danny’s face lite up like a child’s. Bright eyes and broad smiles. He gently smoothed his fingers over the brown paper wrapper before he quickly pulled the string that was tied into a bow around it. His hands moved quickly to rip the paper from the box inside. Danny opened the box and pulled the folded tissue paper back. Inside was a picture frame. The frame was carved from a solid block of marble. Cool greens and warm golds swirled together. There were no visible seams in the corners. Beneath the glass in the frame was the picture of Danny and Alex from Uni. The same one Alex kept in his office. The one where Alex was glancing past the camera’s lens and Danny was looking at Alex.

“Alex, it’s beautiful.” Danny said softly as his finger slowly caressed the cool marble.

“I wanted you to remember how we were before. Back in Uni.”

Danny looked up into his Alex’s face. He saw Alex’s eyes cloud over with tears.

“Oh, darling, of course I remember. I will always remember.” Danny stood up and wrapped his arms around Alex’s body. “I will always love you.” Danny whispered into Alex’s neck.

That night, they made love slowly on the couch. Gentle touches and meaningful glances. As if each were trying to capture as much memory of the other as they could. As Danny groaned out his climax while Alex was above him; the alpha studied Danny’s expression. The shape of his mouth, the curve of the dark lips. The line of Danny’s jaw and the slope of his cheeks. Everything about his omega was imprinted into Alex’s mind. Every gesture and sound. Every touch and taste. This was his Danny – his bondmate – his lover. And Alex was going to do everything to keep him.


	4. Never Dreamed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bond goes after Sokolov.

_‘And I never dreamed that I’d lose someone like you.’_

It had been a week since Bond had returned from Belarus. His leg was well on the way to healing but he still walked with a slight limp. It had taken nearly two dozen stitches to close the wound. He was on a regiment of antibiotics and was scheduled for physiotherapy.

He really wasn’t concerned about any of that. He was looking for Q. He had missed the young man on Friday and now, Monday morning, he was looking for the omega. Bond felt the need to tease the young man some more. To keep the omega is his place, regardless if he was best quartermaster Bond had ever been fortunate enough to work with.

Just as he got off the lift for Q Branch, Bond ran into Tanner.

“Bond, excellent, I was just about to call you. How is the leg?” Tanner said as he waved Bond to reenter the lift.

Bond hesitated then relented and followed the Chief of Staff back into the lift.

“Healing, Tanner. What is up?”

Tanner pressed the button for the executive floor. The lift doors closed, and the car hummed as it rose up from the depths of MI6.

“Uri Sokolov has been spotted in London.”

“Sokolov?” Bond’s attention fixed on Tanner.

“Yes, he was seen leaving a hotel near Elephant and Castle tube station two days ago. He is under passive surveillance right now. I thought you would enjoy bringing the man in.”

Bond couldn’t help himself. He smiled.

“Are we a judicial branch of the government now?” Bond asked knowing that it was outside the purview of MI6’s responsibilities to arrest known terrorist but he would have no trouble what so ever in killing the man.

The doors of the lift opened, and Tanner led the way out of the car. Bond followed him through M’s outer office and into M’s private office. M glanced up from his desk as the two men enter. Eve Moneypenny was standing beside her boss, holding a series of files for him.

“Sit down, Bond.” M said coolly as he signed his name to requisition. M handed the paper to Eve as he started to read another letter. “Did Tanner tell you who is in town?”

“Yes, sir.” Bond said causally.

M signed the next letter and handed it to Eve. “Get those out today, please. And notify Q Branch I will be there in half an hour.”

“Yes, sir.” Eve purred as she moved around the desk. She winked at Bond as she passed him, and he allowed a self-satisfied smirk to come to his lips.

The door closed, and M began to speak.

“Normally, MI5 handles operations within British boarders but there is a problem. Lately, information has been leaked to Sokolov about our investigation of him. Data analysis lays the blame at Whitehall. Whitehall says it is MI5 and MI5 says it is us.”

“A game of pointing fingers.” Bond acknowledged the common ‘deny and counter accuse’ practices of the governmental agencies.

“Sokolov has been running circles around us for months now. We don’t know who the traitor is or where the leaks are coming from but the individual needs to be stopped. Sokolov will be questioned regarding that and the hacking of the banking systems once we have him in custody. After that, the Germans want him for the bombing in Hamburg two years ago. Knowing you have a history with the man, I thought you would prefer to capture him.”

Bond smiled again. He and Sokolov had clashed before. Sokolov had been running an espionage ring out of Istanbul six years earlier. Bond had been sent in to break it up. He was successful in stopping the ring but Sokolov had escaped. Unfortunately, not before murdering Bond’s contact and leaving a bullet in Bond. The British agent felt it was time to return the favor.

“Where is Sokolov right now?” Bond asked.

Tanner looked down at his tablet. Tapping away until he had the latest on the passive surveillance.

“He’s in his flat . . . off Queen’s Road, near Goldsmith College.” Tanner said without looking up.

“Go there and take over surveillance. Wait until he leaves. We don’t want him to blow up his flat and kill innocent victims. Wait until he is in the open and you can take him without an incident. Am I understood, 007?” M glared.

“Completely, sir.” Bond said.

Tanner handed Bond a small black case. “Your gun.”

Bond opened the case and saw the Walther PPK 9mm short that Q had modified for him with the micro-dermal sensors in the grip. A personal statement as Q called it. He removed the sleek gun from the carrying case and slipped it into his empty shoulder holster.

Bond stood up and nodded at M. “Sir.”

“And Bond. I was serious about taking him alive. We can’t question a dead body.”

Bond schooled his expression. “Yes, sir.”

~Q~

Uri Sokolov’s flat was in a converted townhouse. Seeming identical to a dozen more, brown brick townhouses that lined each side of the narrow street. Traffic was light and finding a good place to secretly observe the house was difficult. There were children playing in some of the front gardens. Young families and couples just starting out, seemed to populate the area. Tanner was right to wait until Sokolov was out of his flat before he was apprehended. Less chance he would take a child as a hostage.

Bond found the best location for observing Sokolov’s front door while remaining unseen. The back door was being watched by another field agent with strict instructions to not engage the man if he came out the back.

Bond only had to wait an hour when the red painted door of Sokolov’s townhouse opened and the man stepped out on the front landing. The Chechnian glanced up and down the street twice before he walked nonchalantly down the concrete steps. He paused again at the low iron gate for the front garden and look pointedly up and down the street.

“Now that’s odd.” Bond heard Q’s clear voice through his earwick. “It’s almost like he is expecting you.”

Back in Q Branch, Q tapped on his computer and zoomed the CCTV image in. He watched the spy scan the street looking for anything out of place.

“Thank you, Q. I can see that for myself.” Bond said sarcastically.

Sokolov opened the gate and stepped out on to the pavement. He let the gate swing closed as he started to walk north and away from Bond. Bond waited for a moment. He watched the windows of the townhouse. Then he glanced at other windows around him. There were no shadows moving behind dark windows. No shifting of curtains. He glanced at the few cars parked on the street. No one was sitting in any of them. The cars had been here before he arrived an hour ago. Sokolov didn’t have anyone watching for him as he left his hideaway. Bond started walking slowly behind him.

“Fielding, Agarwal, start moving.” Q said.

Bond recognized the name of the two field agents assigned to follow Sokolov by car. The nondescript blue coupe slowly drove past Bond and up the street.

“Marcum, you are clear to enter.” Q told the man, who had been watching the back of the townhouse, ready to break into Sokolov’s flat.

“You know I could handle this myself.” Bond snipped.

“This is London, 007. We would like to keep the mayhem to a minimum.” Q said calmly. Bond huffed out his disapproval.

“Are you criticizing my modus operandi?” Bond teased.

“007, remember, we wish to question Sokolov. So, don’t shoot him first.” M scowled from behind Q.

“Always here to please, sir.” Bond sighed dramatically.

Bond followed Sokolov, who was also being followed by the slow-moving car with the two field agents in it. Bond watched a Sokolov glanced left and right as he walked up the long narrow pavement. He paused for a moment and seemed to be looking at clothing in a shop window.”

“Q! SDR!”

“Fielding, Agarwal, drive past him. He is looking for you.” Q said quickly, realizing it was a ‘Surveillance Detection Run’.

The men in the car sped up slightly and over took Sokolov. Uri turned and watched them drive off and turn at the end of the street. Bond could see the smug smile on the bastard’s face. It was just Q and Bond now following Sokolov. Just the way Bond like it.

Now that Bond knew it was a ‘SDR’, he held back further. He moved more carefully and kept an eye out for people watching him. Bond’s training at counter detection was second nature to the agent.

Back in Q Branch, Danny Holt mapped out the route that Sokolov was taking. Trying to anticipate where the man was going to help Bond get there first. Sokolov turned down New Cross Road and started walking east. He seemed more relaxed now that he had seen Fielding and Agarwal drive off. His stride lengthened, and he moved more fluidly. Q watched as he turned again and head towards Goldsmith College.

“Bond keep going to Lewisham. You can get in front of him.” Q instructed as he quickly tapped away at his computer. He was trying to hack into the Goldsmith cameras to make sure Sokolov was going in the direction he had just sent Bond.  

Sokolov crossed the street and started to walk down Dixon Road. Q smiled. Bond could intercept him at the intersection. He quickly ordered other agents to converge on that location. The capture of Sokolov would be quick and clean. The narrow street had a blind corner under an extension of the College’s buildings. Sokolov wouldn’t see any of the MI6 agents until it was too late.

Q turned and smiled at M. M nodded his head in approval. Q turned back and busily hacked into the Goldsmith cameras. The feed flickered then came in sharp and clear. Sokolov had walked down Dixon Road and was walking up to a man sitting on the steps for the Student Union. Q typed a command and the camera zoomed in. It took a moment before the lens refocused, then to everyone’s surprise in Q Branch, they recognized the face of the man sitting on the steps. Alex Turner. Q’s bondmate.

“ALEX!” Q gasped.

M rapidly tapped Tanner on the arm, but Tanner was already moving.

“Security to Q Branch, immediately.” Tanner rushed forward and pulled Q back away from the computer.

M stepped forward and spoke. “Bond apprehend Sokolov now. And the man he is with. Do not let either man get away.”

Tanner was struggling with Q. “NO, it’s a mistake! He’s not there to meet with Sokolov!”

Q fought to free himself. But when he saw Sokolov stop and talk to Alex, Q stilled. It was obvious the two men knew each other.

Security men rushed into the bull pen of Q Branch.

“Detain the Quartermaster.” M ordered.

The rest of the Q Branch was speechless and didn’t move. The security men pulled Q out of Tanner’s grip and held him by his shoulders. Q kept pleading that it was a mistake. M glanced at Tanner and the Chief of Staff moved up to the computer and took over communication with Bond and the team.

“Q?! What’s happened!?” Bond wasn’t shouting but the concern was apparent in his voice.

“Tanner here. Q is . . . indisposed. Capture Sokolov and the man he is meeting. He is the traitor.”

“NOOOO!” Q screamed.

“Tanner?” Bond’s voice was questioning.

“You have your orders, 007. Move!” Tanner said and cut the audio feed to the department.

Q Branch watched as Bond started to run down the pavement and towards the Student Union. His gun was already out of its holster and ready to fire. It was a straight run from Lewisham to the blind corner. Bond could see Sokolov standing behind a red Peugeot. Behind him he heard squealing tires as MI6 cars turned the wrong way on the one-way street.

Sokolov looked up at the sound of the tires. He saw Bond running at him. He drew his weapon and fired. The bullet missed Bond and ricocheted into the trees. Bond kept running at him. Sokolov moved out from behind the little red car and aimed again at the agent. Both men heard the horn and the whine of brakes before Sokolov was hit from behind by a Mini-Cooper.

Sokolov bounced off the bonnet and rolled into the windscreen. The safety glass spiderwebbed out as it broke. The gun Sokolov had been holding flew from his hand and landed at Alex’s feet. Sokolov fell the to the ground stunned. He rolled over onto his back and stared up at the bridge above him.

Alex Turner completely overwhelmed by what just happened just stared down at the handgun at his feet. He hadn’t moved but he felt as if he was running as hard as he had ever run before. His heart was pounding in his chest. He was light headed and dizzy. Alex glanced up and saw the man running at him. He recognized James Bond as soon as he saw him. A double ‘O’ agent. Trained to kill. The perfect assassin.

Without thinking, Alex reached down and picked up the gun. He lifted his arm and pointed the weapon at Bond. The agent was just running past him. Bond hadn’t noticed Alex; the man’s attention fixed on Sokolov who was still lying on the ground. Alex’s hand began to shake as he pulled the trigger. It was loud. The sound bouncing off the bridge above them and the concrete walls around them. He saw Bond duck and swerve. Falling to the ground and rolling into a ball. Alex pulled the trigger again. The small gun jerked in his sweating hand. The bullet hit the front grill of the Mini-Cooper.

Alex grabbed the grip of the gun with both hands as he aimed one more time. But Bond wasn’t where he had seen him last. Bond had rolled out of the way and around the front of the Peugeot. Bond aimed his gun and shot once. Hitting Alex Turner in the head.

The side of the young man’s face exploded out. His body fell to the pavement like a ragdoll dropped by a child. Bond didn’t pause over the dead man. He ran around the cars to where Sokolov had fallen. The man was gone.

Back in Q Branch, Q had stopped screaming. He watched as his bondmate was murdered. He saw Bond shoot Alex in the head. A kill shot. Awkwardly, Q noticed Bond was using the gun he had designed for him. Q’s idea of a statement. Q had created the weapon that killed his lover.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't hate me.


	5. This World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bond returns to MI6 after the shooting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the comments. I know the last chapter was emotional. This one will be too. Hang in there.

_‘This world is only going to break your heart.’_

After being detained by the police for an unreasonably long time, Bond was released and returned to the Riverhouse. As soon as he walked into the building, he could feel the change in the atmosphere. Security had tightened on all the exits. More guards were patrolling the hallways. The staff were subdued and whispering quietly amongst themselves. Bond had the sensation he was being spied upon by his fellow workers and not in the normal ‘awe inspired’ manner he relished.

He took the lift to the executive floor and walked into M’s outer office. Eve Moneypenny was sitting behind her desk. The woman was dabbing at the corners of her eyes with a tissue.

“Nothing to get teary eyed about, Eve. My tailor will fix the tear in my suit. Or I’ll just get a new one.” Bond teased as he sat on the edge of the woman’s desk.

“Shut up, James!” Eve hissed at the alpha, pushing him off. “I’m not crying about you. Or your damnable suits!”

She pressed the button and M’s soundproof door opened.

“He is waiting for you . . . and I hope he shoots you, too!”

Confused by the woman’s statement, Bond stood up and wondered if retreat was the best option. Never known for turning down a fight, Bond took a moment to straighten his dirty cuffs and smooth the front of his suit that still had grime on it from where he had rolled across Dixon Road.

He walked into M’s office with his head held up and his eyes sweeping the room for any threats.

Tanner and M were both standing and looking over reports together. The men were speaking in a hushed tone and stopped as soon as he entered the room.

“I thought I told you we wanted to question the suspect, not shoot him.” M scowled.

“It was a fluid situation, sir. There was a limited outcome once Sokolov took the first shot. My primary concern was the safety of the by-standers.” Bond took his position in front of M’s desk. He didn’t even look at the two chairs waiting for someone to sit in them.

Bond looked over at Tanner. The Chief of Staff was pale. He could see worry lines carving themselves in the man’s forehead. M was red faced. Anger blooming brightly over his sharp features.

“Did you know the man you shot?” M asked.

“No, sir. He looked familiar, but I couldn’t place him exactly. You said he was the traitor.” Bond remained at attention.

“Yes, he was. And because of your over-developed trigger finger, we are unable to question him. You also lost us Sokolov. The whole episode was a major disaster. And now . . .” M trailed off. He glared at Bond. Then turned around and poured himself a bourbon from a decanter on the credenza behind him.

Bond glanced at Tanner. The other man sagged in his frame and set the file he was holding down.

“The man was Alistair Turner.” Tanner said. Bond was completely unfamiliar with the name. “He worked in Data Analysis for five years. One of the best. Spotless record. He was in position to take the department over after Lewis left.” Tanner paused while he seemed to gather his waning strength. “He was also Q’s bondmate.”

Bond felt a punch to his stomach. _‘Q. His Q. He had killed Q’s husband,’_ Bond thought to himself. A ringing started in his ears. Q was an omega and the loss of a bondmate to an omega was a life threatening event.

“Q witnessed the shooting. He is in medical now.” Tanner continued.

“His condition?” Bond didn’t recognize his own voice.

“Serious.”

M spun back around and glared at Bond then looked down at the papers scattered across his desk. “We never considered Turner a threat. We had no idea he was involved with Sokolov. The man had access to practically all of our raw ‘intel’. Depending on how long he has been spying for Sokolov, he could have given everything to the man. And now there is the possible that Q was also involved. He is a traitor . . .”

“Q is not a traitor.” Bond growled.

M and Tanner looked up, stunned by Bond’s assertion. Bond remained still as he focused his eyes over M’s right shoulder.

“That is yet to be determined.” M’s voice dropped threatening low.

“Let me speak to Q.” Bond said. “I will get the truth out of him. He will tell us he didn’t know what his bondmate was doing. He wasn’t aware Turner was in contact with Sokolov.”

“Q might not survive his ‘Grieving Heat’. We may never know what he did and didn’t know about Turner. Q Branch is trying to determine right now if Turner accessed any crucial files before he left the building today. Who is to say how much he has already leaked.” M replied to Bond.

“My presence in Q Branch might speed things up.” Bond offered.

“I sincerely doubt that, but I don’t want to see you right now. Get out and don’t come back until we need a blunt object again.”

Bond said nothing else. He turned on his heels and walked out of M’s office. Eve was still sitting at her desk. Bond hesitated then asked.

“How is Q?”

Eve looked up at him. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying. “As if you care.”

“I do care, Eve.” Bond said emphatically.

The woman seemed shocked for a brief moment. She blinked her large brown eyes then pulled the corners of her mouth down into a pout.

“Tanner pulled him away from the computers when they realized that Sokolov’s contact was Alex. He tried to stop you. He saw you shoot Alex. He collapsed and was taken to Medical. His ‘Grieving Heat’ started almost immediately. But Farris said they can’t give him anything to alleviate the symptoms. There is something wrong with his blood work. He could die, James. Q may not survive this.”

~Q~

Bond hated Medical. He would never willingly go there. That is why the nurse, sitting at the reception desk, was surprised to see the Double ‘O’ bound through the double doors of the department.

“Where is Q?” Bond said as a ‘hello’.

“Ah . . . he’s in isolation . . . are you family?” The frightened nurse was looking around for support, but the rest of the medical staff had vanished as soon as they saw Bond enter.

“Close enough. Where is isolation?” Bond growled.

“Bond!” Doctor Maurine Farris came down the hall towards the agent.

The older female beta was dressed in grey scrubs and had her dark hair pulled back into a lose bun. She looked tired as she approached the alpha.

“Stop harassing my staff. You’re not even injured. Why are you here?” the woman asked. She was one of the few members of staff who wasn’t intimidated by the alpha.

“Q.”

“He is in an isolation room. It’s not good.” Farris said as she handed the nurse at the desk a large blue patient record folder. “I heard what happened. You really shouldn’t be here.”

“Just explain what happened to him. Is he going to be alright?” Bond tried to control the sound of his voice.

Farris stared at the alpha for a moment, then waved for him to follow her. Bond fell into step with the woman and the two walked back down the hall. They turned a corner and stopped before a window. Inside was a simple room. Beige and cream-colored walls and floor. The only furniture in the room was an oversized single bed and large comfortable looking chair. There were no windows other than the observational window. There was a door that Bond guessed led into a bathroom. Bond recognized a ‘heat room’. The place were omegas could spend their heats alone. It was supposed to used by unbound omega executives of MI6, but Q was presently in the room. He was curled up into a ball on the chair. His knees pulled tight to his chest. His dark curls hiding his pale face.

“How much of omega biology do you remember from school?” Doctor Farris asked.

“Just tell me what is happening to him.” Bond said quietly as he stepped back out of view of Q.

“Don’t worry. It’s a two-way mirror. He can’t see us. The room is sound-proof and scent-proof.”

Bond realized he had been smelling the air, trying to detect the scent of an omega in heat.

“When an omega of childbearing age loses their mate, their biology kicks in. It is called the ‘Grieving Heat’. The first heat the omega has just after the death of their bondmate. It is a genetic throwback to encourage the omega to bond with another alpha a soon as possible or . . .”

“Or what?” Bond asked wishing he remembered what little he was taught when he was in school.

“Omegas are sensitive. The bond they develop with their alphas is very strong. Stronger than the one the alpha bonds with them. The death of their mate causes tremendous emotional and physical stress on them. The greater the stress on his system, the faster the heat starts. If they can’t bond with another alpha quickly, the stress can be fatal.”

“But not always?” Bond asked hoping for a chance for Q. “He is strong.”

“Yes, some omegas can go through the ‘Grieving Heat’ and never bond. They aren’t adversely affected, but . . . the more traumatic the event, the harder it is on the omega. If the omega witnesses the death of their mate, it increases the stress exponentially.” Farris explained.

Bond remember the pain he suffered watching his M die, Oliva Mansfield. They weren’t even bonded. The idea of watching your lover being shot in the head would be horrific.  

“Is there something you can give him to reduce the stress?”

“There are new, experimental drugs. Some are very effective, but I can’t give them to Q.”

“Why?” Bond asked.

“Someone has been poisoning Q.”

Bond turned at looked at the doctor. He could see the concern and fear in the woman’s eyes.

“Poison? Was that what was wrong with his blood?”

She didn’t seem surprised that Bond knew there was a problem with Q’s lab work.

“Yes. He has been given low dose alkaloid poison for several months now. I’m not sure how or who. I’ll do the autopsy on his bondmate, but I don’t think he will have any poison in him. I believe Q ingested it and it wasn’t environmental. The poison prevents us from giving Q the medication to help him.” Farris explained.

“Were they trying to kill him?” Bond’s anger was building.

“If they wanted Q dead and could poison his food, I’m sure they would have given him a lethal dose. I can’t believe they gave it to him to prevent us from treating him during a ‘Grieving Heat’, so I really don’t know why anyone would be giving him poison.”

“What can you do for him?” Bond looked back at the young man who now openly crying. Pulling at his own hair.

“The only way to stop the ‘Grieving Heat’ is for him to bond, but what alpha in MI6 wants to bond with suspected traitor. Even if we could find an alpha willing to bond himself to Q, M probably won’t allow it. If we can’t alleviate the symptoms, I’m afraid the Quartermaster won’t survive this.”

~Q~

Bond didn’t remember walking out of Medical. He just knew he couldn’t stand there any longer and watch Q suffer. It was like witnessing your partner being tortured. His fists wanted to pound into someone. He wanted fight someone or something – to protect Q, but there was no way to fight biology.

Bond found himself stepping into Q Branch. As soon as he entered the department, the minions turned and looked at him. Instead of the tense and apprehensive stares he was greeted with hatred and fear. The wave of anger at him caused him to stop suddenly and look at each face of Q’s staff who were glaring at him.

“007, we are very busy. Why are you here?” R asked as she walked up to him.

The female beta was a force to reckon with by herself. Strong and determined, it was thought she would take over the department upon the death of Boothroyd, but Anna Stratford had insisted Q was the best choice for the job. She had openly campaigned for the younger omega to take over.

She and the Double ‘O’s had a good working relationship. She was firm but reasonable with them. They respected her.

“R . . . I thought I could help.” Bond said to the woman.

_“Think you did enough already.”_ Someone said from the back of the room.

Bond and R turned to see who had spoken but the minions were already back at work on their computers. R sighed and turned back to Bond.

“This is a matter of searching for a needle in a hay stack. As part of his duties Alex had the clearance and reason to access almost everything in the databases. The access logs recorded his user name, IP address, and workstation ID, coming up again and again. We need to check if there was anything sensitive in each of the accessed files that would tie him to Sokolov. It will take a while and we need to do it ourselves.” R explained.

“You need to prove that Q is innocent too.” Bond said.

The ‘too’ was not lost on the woman.

“You didn’t know who Alex was. I realize that, but Q is special. Everyone in here would walk through fire for him. And now . . . we just want to help him.”

“I want to help.”

“The best thing you can do is leave and let us do our work. This is what we are experts at.” R said. She placed a reassuring hand on Bond’s arm. “Please, you being here is just . . . distracting us.”

Bond nodded, but he still didn’t want to leave. He glanced over at Q’s office.

“Have they been there yet? Has security searched it?” Bond asked.

R’s eyes followed Bond’s to the closed door.

“No, but I expect them here soon. It might be less distracting to everyone if they waited. Tanner might be waiting until the day shift goes home. It would cause less animosity if he did.”

“Well, it is obvious the department hates me now. Little more I can do to make it worse.”

Bond turned on his heels and went to Q’s office door. He paused for a moment and glance over his shoulder. Every one of the minions was staring at him again. If they had been armed, he was sure they would have shot him. He wondered for moment if he would have an electronic identity by the morning or if Q’s minions would erase him form existence.

Bond opened the door and stepped in. He closed the door silently. For some reason, he felt he needed to be respectful in the confined space. Q’s desk was littered with stacks of files. His computer screen was locked on a screen saver that looked like an aquarium with salt water fish swimming around. The other table in the room was a drafting desk, with numerous drawings and plans scattered on it. The shelves against two walls crowded prototypes and models. There was Q’s lumpy brown futon with the colorful afghan tossed over the back. And the single straight back chair in front of his desk. He could almost hear Q’s voice bouncing off the walls. The snide comments about Bond’s age. The room looked just as Bond remembered seeing before his last mission. Messy and organized at the same time. Just like Q.

As the alpha stepped closer to the desk, he caught Q’s scent. It was unique for an omega. It wasn’t sweet or flora, but more clean smelling. Like fresh laundry or country air. The thought he would never smell Q’s scent again twisted in Bond’s gut.

He looked at the drawing on the drafting table. A new camera and a scope for a rifle. There were also schematics for changes to a car. Bond felt a wave of fondness when he saw the note attached to the schematics _‘for Bond’_. Q really did design things just for him.

Bond went and sat down at Q’s desk. He pulled a stack of files towards him and saw they were nothing more than administrative paperwork. The same with the second pile. The computer made the sound of water splashing and he glanced at it. The electronic Butterfly fish swam by. Bond allowed a small curve to his lips in a smile.

His eyes slipped sideways to the photo beside the computer screen. It was a colored photograph of Q with the man that Bond had seen earlier in the day. The man Bond only glimpsed at before the younger man shot at him. Before Bond killed him. The man was laughing and staring at something over the photographer’s shoulder. His right hand beginning to rise and point. He was attractive. Tall and thin with medium brown hair, conservatively combed back. His eyes were deep set and grey. His face smooth and angular. He had a cupid bow lips and they were parted, as if he was saying something. His white teeth were visible behind his red lips.

But Bond was studying Q in the photograph. Q was younger in this picture. Bond wondered when it had been taken. His hair was longer, and he wasn’t wearing eyeglasses. Q was turned in a three-quarter turn, not facing the camera. He was looking at Turner. Q was smiling. Bond wondered if he had ever seen Q smile before. He couldn’t remember. He studied Q’s expression. The young omega looked so happy. So much in love.

Bond could feel a constriction around his heart. He had taken Q’s bondmate way from him. He had killed the man, who Q was so obviously in love with. If Q survived, he would never forgive Bond. Never.

Bond set the heavy onyx picture fame face down on the desk. He could no longer look at the photo. The door opened and Alec Trevelyan came into the office. He glanced at his friend then closed the door. Taking the seat across from Bond, Alec leaned back.

“Does M know you’re in here?”

“I don’t give a fuck.” Bond snapped back.

Alec sighed. “You didn’t know, James. You can’t blame yourself.”

“I know I didn’t know it was Q’s bloody bondmate, but . . .” Bond pounded his fist on the desk top.

“But, what?”

“M is stupid enough to believe Q is a traitor. And because he does, he may not allow anyone to save Q’s life.”

“The ‘Grieving Heat’ is that bad?” Alec asked.

“Someone was poisoning Q and he can’t take the medicines that could help him.” Bond explained.

“Who would poison the Quartermaster?” Alec asked.

“Maybe someone who wants Q to take all the blame. Maybe there is another traitor still working here and if Q dies, then M won’t look for them.”

“Then Q needs to live and prove his innocence. Force that poncy bastard to look for the real criminals.”

Bond looked down at the desk again and at the green and gold picture frame. He picked it up and handed it to Alec.

“Keep this safe. Don’t let the arses from security take it. They’ll be here soon to ransack his office.”

Bond stood and walked forcefully out of the office.


	6. I Don't Want to Fall in Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Q's 'Grieving Heat.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I was supposed to get this posted yesterday, but I had the day from hell. There is smut in this chapter so if not your style just skip to the last third of the chapter.

_‘No, I don’t want to fall in love.’_

The nurse was not at the reception desk when Bond reentered Medical. He glanced over the desk then started opening draws. He found a set of keys in the top drawer. He quickly grabbed them and headed down the hall towards the isolation rooms.

Glancing through the two-way mirror, Bond saw Q huddled back in the chair. Q was shaking. His skin flushed with full on heat. The young man was naked now. His arms wrapped tightly around his skinny legs. His face buried into his knees.

Bond gave himself a moment, then unlocked the door and entered the isolation room.

The scent of omega in full heat blasted past Bond, nearly knocking the alpha over. Bond hesitated then quickly locked the door behind him. His instinct was to rush over to the omega. Take him, make Q his, but he held himself back. He moved to the side where there was a privacy screen. Bond positioned the screen in front of the window to block the view. Bond knew there were probably cameras in the room, but this at least gave Q some dignity of privacy.

The scent was getting stronger. Apparently, Bond’s presence had triggered something in Q’s biology. Bond tried breathing through his mouth. The taste of omega heat coated his tongue. He closed his eyes and focused.

“Q?” he whispered.

He heard the young man whimper.

“Q, I want to help you.”

“You killed him.” Q wept.

“I didn’t know he was your bondmate.”

“You killed him.”

“Please, Q. I want to help, but I need you to ask me. I won’t force you.” Bond whispered. He struggled to remain by the door and not move closer to the naked man. If he needed to leave, he wanted to be able to do so.

“It hurts.”

“I realize. I need you to say it’s okay. That you want my help. Otherwise, I will leave.”

“I want Alex. I want my mate.” Q whimpered.

Bond struggled. “He’s dead, Q. I’m to blame for his death. I can’t bring him to you but I can help you now.”

Bond fisted his hands and stepped back, resting his back against the locked door. He waited. Q’s whimpers and heavy breathing was the only thing he heard. Bond forced himself to turn around and reached for the doorknob.

“Please, James . . . I hurt.”

Bond didn’t remember moving. They seemed to suddenly be in the bed together, both naked. Q was rubbing up against Bond’s firm body. Bond was scenting Q; rubbing his chin over Q’s curls and around his shoulders. Bond’s senses were taking in the information but his mind couldn’t form any solid cohesive thought. He could feel Q’s smooth skin under his fingertips. He could smell the scent of a Q but also the addictive smell of Omega heat. He could hear the sounds the omega was making. The concert of moans and pleas that caused Bond’s body to react on a base level. Bond’s primal needs took over.

He tasted blood as he felt himself slip into Q’s body. The sharp keen of Q as they joined. The fever pitch as he made the bonding bite over the mark already on Q’s throat. Bond’s arms tightened around Q’s body as the younger man groaned and sagged in Bond’s embrace.

Bond woke some time later. Q was curled contentedly under Bond’s chin. His long thin arms wrapped around blonde’s torso as the younger man slept in alpha’s arms. The room was dark. There was no sound but the soft breathing coming from Q. The lights in the room had been turned off. Bond wasn’t sure if he had done it or if Farris had somehow controlled them from outside.

Bond shifted on the oversize bed and felt the sheets glued to his back. He sighed as he felt how sticky and sweaty the two of them were. He shifted and Q moaned.

“Com’on, kitten. Let’s get you cleaned up.” Bond gently nudged Q up off his chest.

The sleepy omega allowed himself to be moved and leaned heavily on the alpha. Bond carefully guided Q towards the bathroom door. Pausing for a moment, he glanced around the room.

“I’m sure someone is listening in. Clean sheets and food would be nice when we are done cleaning up.”

Bond half walked – half carried Q into the bathroom. The bathroom was large. There was a tub and a shower. Bond carefully sat Q down on the toilet while he fixed the temperature of the shower. He also found a small under-the-counter refrigerator in the bathroom. There was fruit juice as well as sports drinks in it. Bond opened a bottle of orange flavored sports drink and forced it in Q’s hand.

“Drink.”

The younger man looked up at Bond with half closed eyes and relax grin on his face. He took the bottle and tipped it up. Drinking the whole bottle in one go. Then closing his eyes again, Q sagged backwards on the toilet and seemed to doze off. Once Bond was happy with the temperature of the shower he carefully picked Q back up and guided the sleepy man into the shower.

Q leaned into Bond as the blonde carefully wiped Q’s body with a soapy flannel. The neutral scent soap didn’t cover up Bond’s scent that clung to Q’s smooth skin. Q tenderly kissed and licked at Bond’s neck. Purring softly and humming his appreciation.

“You taste good.” Q rumbled.

Q’s hands began to run over the broad shoulders and down the muscled chest. The scent of omega heat was still strongly surrounding Q and it was affecting Bond. Bond could feel Q’s interest rubbing firmly against his thigh. His own length growing and filling out.

“You will be good to me, won’t you James?” Q purred. “Fill me and breed me?”

The phrase seemed to sizzle inside Bond’s brain. _‘Pups’._ The idea of pups. Would this heat bring a child into the world? Would he want a child?

The vision of smaller version of Q came to mind. Dark curls and large hazel eyes. Precocious. Bond’s heart swelled.

“Imagine the beautiful blonde pups.” Q whispered.

“No,” Bond growled. “Dark hair like yours. Brilliant like you.”

“With stunning blue eyes . . . I want them, James. I want you.” Q groaned.

Bond spun the younger omega around and pushed Q against the tiled wall. Q naturally arched his back and spread his legs apart. Bond blocked the spray of water from hitting Q’s back. He didn’t want the slick to be washed away. He didn’t want Q to feel any discomfort at all. Q clung to the wall as James entered him again. The image of their future brood filling Bond’s mind. A life with this omega. His and his alone.

James wrapped his arms around Q’s thin body and rutted forcefully into Q’s body.

“Fill me . . . give me . . . blonde pups.” Q’s voice broke as he was pounded.

James felt his knot growing. Something base and primal came alive in him.

_‘This beautiful, brilliant man is mine! My omega! My mate!”_

James heard the omega keen as he came. His knot swelling and sealing the two of them together. James bit down on the already abused bond mark on Q’s neck. The gland was already burst by Turner but Bond didn’t care. Q was his now. Only his.

Q’s release slid down the tiled wall and was washed way by the water. He slumped in Bond’s embrace and leaned his head back on to James’ shoulder. Carefully, James lowered them to the floor of the shower. Gently making sure he didn’t harm Q at all. They would be locked together for the next half hour. Bond’s body still surging semen into the waiting womb of the omega.

As they sat on the floor and the warm water sprayed over them, Q twisted in Bond’s embrace and kissed the alpha’s jaw. Q then nuzzled James.

“My alpha,” he whispered.

The sound seemed to bloom into James’ chest.

~Q~

When they left the bathroom, the sheets had been changed and there was a tray of food waiting for them. A cup of broth for Q and some fresh fruit. Bond held Q in his lap and gently fed the younger man. Q laying his head contentedly on James’ shoulder. When James realized Q had fallen asleep again, he carefully picked the young man up and carried him over to the bed. He laid Q back down and crawled under the blanket with him.

Bond woke several hours later, warm and relaxed feeling. He felt a warm body curled up next to him. The soft breath coming across his neck. Bond smiled and pulled Q closer. The younger man hummed and stretched. His slightly bristled chin rubbed against Bond’s neck.

Then there was a gasp. A solid hand pushing against Bond’s chest. Bond opened his eyes and looked over into the frightened and confused face of his Quartermaster.

“Bond?! What . . .!?”

“Q?” Bond leaned forward to kiss the younger man, but Q pushed harder with his palm on Bond’s chest.

Q suddenly kicked at the covers and flayed his thin limbs to get out of the bed.

“Why you are here!? Why are we in bed . . . together!?” Q shouted.

“It was your ‘Grieving Heat’. I needed to bond with you to save your life.” Bond said sitting up.

Q’s hand slapped his neck. “Grieving Heat’! Alex? Where is Alex!?”

The memory came slamming back into Q. He collapsed to the floor crying. Bond leapt out of bed and went to the stricken man.

“Don’t touch me!” Q shouted.

Bond backed away.

“How could you bond with me!? Why?” Q cried out.

The door of the room opened and Dr. Farris entered. Bond immediately became defensive. He placed himself between the intruder and his omega.

“GET OUT!” Bond growled.

“Bond, calm down. I’m not here to harm your omega.” Dr. Farris said. The woman’s hands were raised in a sign of submission.

“I’M NOT HIS OMEGA!” Q screamed. He scrambled to his feet. “ALEX IS MY ALPHA!”

Bond growled and grabbed Q, pulling the smaller man closer. “NO, you are mine!”

Q tried to fight free of Bond’s grasp.

“Quartermaster! Danny, stop. Don’t aggravate him more. Everyone relax. Bond, look at me.” Dr. Farris ordered.

Bond turned and looked at the woman but kept his arm tightly wrapped around Q’s body. Q stopped fighting the man but kept his body stiff and resistant.

“Danny, you were very sick. You’re ‘Grieving Heat’ was serious and we didn’t have a way to reduce the strain on your body. Bond decided . . . and I might add, by himself, that the only way to save you was to go through a bonding with you. He saved your life, Quartermaster.” Dr. Farris’ voice softened as she spoke.

“But he murdered Alex.” Q whispered.

“Yes, he did. He didn’t know Alex was your bondmate.”

Bond growled again at the statement that Q belonged to someone else.

“Bond, calm down. No one is going to take Danny away from you.” Dr. Farris frowned at Bond.

Bond hesitated then slowly released the omega. Q jumped back before Bond could grab hold again.

“Don’t you ever touch me again.” Q hissed.

“Not now, Quartermaster. Wait until he is over the post-bonding effects.” Dr. Farris warned. Turning her attention back to the alpha. “Bond, I need to check Danny out. I need to make sure he is alright. Remember the poison? I need to draw more blood to make sure the poison is leaving his system.”

Q’s anger turned to confusion. “Poison? Me?”

“Yes,” said Dr. Farris. “You were exposed to an alkaloid. And from what we can tell for several weeks, maybe months.”

“Am I going to die?” Q asked. Bond suddenly moved and grabbed Q again. “GET OFF ME YOU BASTARD!”

“Danny, stop. Don’t antagonize him. He saved your life. And as for dying, no I don’t think so. Not now. But you’ll be happy to know that the poison has also probably prevented you from getting pregnant during your mating.”

Bond turned and looked at Dr. Farris as if seeing her for the first time. His grip on Q slackened as the thought of the beautiful children with dark curls and blue eyes faded away. He knew he should be relieved. He never wanted pups. He wasn’t father material. He was a loner. But the knowledge there wouldn’t be children coming to him and Q tore at his insides.

He let go of Q and stepped away from the man. Q was confused but Dr. Farris knew what had just happened.

~Q~

The two had been moved to another room in Medical. Bond was wearing his workout clothes he kept in his locker in the gym. Q was wearing the beige coveralls that prisoners at MI6 wore. Q was sitting on the edge of the bed while Dr. Farris was taking more blood for testing. Bond was hovering in the corner, not touching Q, but keeping the young man always in his view. Tanner was standing by the door.

“Quartermaster, we have searched your flat as well as yours and your bondmate’s offices.” Tanner explained. Bond growled. Tanner glanced at the alpha and then ducked his eyes in submission. “Sorry, Alex Turner’s office. We found nothing incriminating against you per say but giving the severity of the situation, you are relieved of duty until further notice. You will also be taken into custody until such time as it is determined you are not involved in the spying.”

“But I did nothing wrong. You don’t have any proof Alex did anything wrong. Sokolov may have just been asking for directions.” Q plead.

“We did find evidence of an incursion in the main frame.” Tanner said.

Q looked confused. “Where . . . when?”

“Once we had Turner’s personal computer we found where he designed two different worms. The first one was elegant and sophisticated. We would never have been able to see it in our mainframe if we didn’t know what we were looking for. He used it over two months ago. It ‘scrapped’ all useable data regarding the terrorists involved in the hacking of the banking industry. It could have been used before, but he just can’t tell.”

“And the second worm?” Q asked as Dr. Farris finished taking Q’s blood. She placed several squares of gauze over the puncture wound and made Q bend his elbow up.

“That one wasn’t as well designed. We found it almost immediately.” Tanner hesitated and looked over at Bond, before he continued. “Quartermaster, are you familiar with Venezuela?”

“The country?” Q asked confused.

Tanner returned his attention back to Q. “Did Turner ever mention Venezuela to you?”

“No, we liked to holiday in Spain and Greece.”

“We found he had been doing internet searches on the country. The best places to live. To find work. He was also researching other countries we do not have extradition agreements with.” Tanner said.

Bond shifted in the corner. The implication that Turner was going to run was obvious. “What reason do you have to think he was going to take Q with him?”

“Q was his bondmate. He wouldn’t leave without him. M and I both doubt he would begin something as big as this without Q’s knowledge and assistance.”

Q looked stunned. “You can’t imagine I would betray MI6. I would never!”

“What did the second worm take?” Bond asked ignoring Q’s denial.

Tanner remained silent, just switching he gaze back and forth between Bond and Q. He waited until Dr. Farris had left the room.

“A list of every agent we presently have embedded in terrorist organizations.” Tanner said bluntly.

“How?! My firewalls should have stopped him!” Q shouted.

“That is exactly what we thought too, Q. You should have been able to stop him . . . unless you helped him do it.” Tanner said.

“You must believe me. I am loyal. I wouldn’t spy against England!” Q stood up.

Bond shifted from his position in the corner. He was going to prevent Tanner from getting closer to his bondmate. Tanner noticed the shifting dynamics in the room and moved closer to the door, easing Bond’s tension.

“Normally, I would agree with you, Quartermaster, but this is not a normal situation. You are or were bonded to someone who was actively working against England. We are not sure how deep this goes. We don’t know if Turner was working with someone . . . like you, or working alone. We don’t even know how much got out. M is not taking any chance though. He has order every one of those agents to disengage. Thousands of hours of work and millions of pounds of money are wasted because of this breach, and we don’t know if we even sealed it up yet.”

“You’re going to need a scapegoat, and I’m it, correct.” Q said resigning himself to his fate.

“NO,” Bond growled from the corner. “I know Q is innocent.”

“How?” Tanner asked.

“I know him. He is the best Quartermaster we’ve had in years. He’s not some show-pony who just prances around for the bean counters. He actually cares about his agents. He cares about the work. He wouldn’t sell us out.”

“All that aside, 007, you don’t know what he is capable of.” Tanner said shrugging his shoulders. “Q is under arrest. And since you have bonded with a suspected enemy of England, you are suspended from active duty until further notice.”

Tanner gave each man a resigned look and turned to leave.

“Wait! You don’t know how much Alex took,” Q broke in. “I could help. You need my help in discovering what he got. We don’t have to pull the agents out yet. We can still salvage this. With my help!”

Tanner turned back and looked at him. “What are you offering?”

“Let me work with my team and we will discover what Alex took and when. Maybe we can discover it’s not as bad as you think. I can prove I’m loyal.” Q offered.

Tanner thought for a moment. “You don’t have a team anymore. You have lost your department.”

Q looked like he’d been punched. The idea he was no longer the Quartermaster hurt almost as much as losing Alex. Trying to cover his pain, he shrugged. “Then I’ll do it by myself. It will take longer but I will show you I’m not a spy.”

“Here, locked up in the holding cells?”

Q glanced at Bond then back to Tanner. “007 is suspended from active duty. He can be my bodyguard. He can be responsible for me. If I try to run, he can shoot me.”

Bond made a whining sound he would deny for the rest of his life he made.

“You are my bondmate. I can’t hurt you.”

Q turned on the alpha. “We may have bonded, but you are not my mate, and never will be.” He turned back to Tanner. “Let me go home and I can work from there. Everything I need is there.”

“Not any longer. Your flat and all of its possessions have been seized. As well as your office and Turner’s.”

Q sagged at the information. “Can I get anything back?”

Tanner thought for a moment. “Your clothes. Maybe some other personal things. But no electronics or anything you shared with Turner.”

Q collapse on the bed and bowed his head. Bond stepped forward. He reached out to wrap his arm around Q’s body but the small omega shifted away. Bond forced himself to not be hurt by rejection. He looked at Tanner.

“Q will stay with me at my flat. If you need you can search it too. R can supply him with the necessary equipment and space here at MI6 to help track what was taken and also find Sokolov.”

Q looked up. “I’m not staying with you.”

“He is your bondmate, like it or not, Q. It is either Bond’s flat or the holding cells downstairs. Newly bonded, 007 will be with you in either location. I suggest his flat instead the cells. It would be far more comfortable.” Tanner said coldly.

Q glanced between the two alphas. Then sighed.

“And the part about helping?” the young omega asked.

“I will need to check with M, but maybe.”

An idea came to Bond. “Q was being poisoned. Surely that is proof that he wasn’t complicit in any spying against England?”

Tanner frowned. “Or maybe he was taking it himself to use as proof of innocence.”

Bond’s stare at the Chief of Staff went icy cold. Tanner could feel the anger pouring off the man in waves. He cleared his throat trying to cover up his intimidation.

“I will discuss it with M, but . . . don’t hold out any hope. After the Skyfall debacle we are very sensitive about leaks regarding embedded agents. Even innocent people will get caught up and be arrested. Maybe even prosecuted and found guilty.”

A deep threatening growl came out of Bond’s chest. Tanner felt a flush run through him. He didn’t flee from the room, but he didn’t tarry either.


	7. No, I Don't Want

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bond and Q deal with the fall out of their bonding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the wonderful comments. More tears to come.

_‘No, I don’t want to fall in love with you.’_

“Is he going to be alright?” Bond asked as he watched Q. Dr. Farris was standing with Bond going over the medication Q was going to need to counteract the alkaloid poison Alex had been giving him.

Q sat on the edge of the bed looking out the window. He was ignoring the doctor and the agent. Lost in his own mind, trying to understand why his bondmate had been poisoning him. The man he loved and had promised to spend the rest of his life with had lied to him and was trying to kill him. Q felt crushed.

“I don’t know if there will be any long-term complications from the poisoning. If we knew why Turner was giving the alkaloid to Q then maybe we would know what to expect but . . .” She trailed off. Her voice turning sad.

“And the ‘Grieving Heat’ . . . he won’t suffer any more from that because he bonded?”

She studied the agent’s face for a moment. “You saved his life, but . . . realize that whatever happened while he was in his heat . . . whatever he said or did, it doesn’t mean anything now. He was under the control of his hormones at that moment. Just as you were. Neither one of you wanted to bond. I know you did it foolishly to save his life but now with the pheromones gone both of you will find it difficult to be bonded. Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do to undo this.”

“What do you mean?” Bond was uncertain he knew what the doctor was hinting about.

“The drugs we give an omega to help with the loss of an alpha do not cause the bond to break. They only alleviate the complication of a breaking bond. We are unable to break the bond between you and the Quartermaster. The two of you will need to learn to live together as partners . . . bondmates. I don’t know if you realize how difficult that will be, James. And if he is found guilty, then what will happen? The strain of a separation will affect both of you.” 

“I understand.” Bond said, not sure if he was relieved or not.

~Q~

Bond unlocked the door of his flat and held it open for Q. The young omega walked into the large spacious room. There was a ‘mid-century modern’ leather couch with a plain looking coffee table in front of it. There was a single black leather armchair placed with its back towards a large bay window. There was a large screen television set in the corner with a small cabinet underneath it. Q could see a DVD player and several other electronics behind glass doors. There was no other furniture in the room. Framed pictures were leaning against bare walls. The floors were hardwood and without any rugs or carpeting. There were no curtains in the windows. The flat looked uninhabited.

“When did you move in?” Q asked looking around.

“Seven months ago.”

Bond locked the front door and walked past Q and into a small kitchen off the living room. Q followed him into the room. The only appliance was a coffee maker. The stove looked like it had never been turned on. The refrigerator was spotless. There wasn’t even a table or chairs. No place looked like it was where Bond ate.

Q was beginning to worry.

“Do I at least have a bed to sleep in . . . alone?”

Bond twisted and looked at the younger man with a confused expression.

“I’m not sleeping with you, Bond.” Q said firmly.

Bond set a bag of takeaway down on the counter and walked back pass Q. He waved his finger and the young man followed Bond down the hallway. Bond opened a door on the left-hand side of the narrow dark hall. It was a bedroom, insomuch as there was a bed in it. Q walked in and looked around.

The double bed had clean sheets on it and white duvet. There were several pillows too. A small bedside table had a simple lamp on it with a white shade. There was a wardrobe against the opposite wall.

“Can I get a desk? I need somewhere to work.” Q explained.

“No.” Bond pointed to the corner. Q’s eyes followed the man’s gesture. In the corner was a small black camera about the size of a pack of cigarettes. “You were only allowed to leave MI6 holding because I agreed to have cameras installed in here. There is one in the living room and kitchen too. The bathroom is free of surveillance. You are not allowed to do any work on computers or anything with the internet until you prove you are innocent.”

“You must be joking.” Q complained. “How am I supposed to prove my innocence if I can’t work?”

“Don’t complain to me. Blame your bond . . .” The blonde hesitated then glared at Q. “Blame Alex.”

A wave of anger crashed over Q. He glared at the alpha. “I want to be alone. Leave.”

Instantly, Bond became defensive. This was his flat and Q was the one who was invading it, not him.

“Petulance comes with youth, but I’m too tired to deal with it tonight. Eat some dinner then you can lock yourself up in here and pout all you want.” Bond turned and started to walk out of the room.

“I’m not hungry.” Q growled.

“Farris said you need to eat. To build your strength back up from your darling Alex poisoning you.”

“HE DIDN’T POISON ME! IT WAS A MISTAKE!” Q shouted. His fists balled and he want to physically hurt Bond.

The alpha turned and looked at the fuming omega. Q’s pale features were now red with anger.

“If you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m your only ally right now. Turner was a traitor. A criminal. He was selling information that would get the people we work with killed. Our friends. He hacked his way through your supposedly un-hackable firewalls.”

 Q wanted to argue but he knew he was wrong. Instead he kept glaring at the other man. Bond continued.

“He tried to shoot me. He would have killed me or anyone else from MI6 . . . like Eve. R was told to ban you from your department and take over. M was willing to let you die. Tanner doesn’t trust you and thinks you are a traitor too. In short, I’m the only person in your corner and I’m beginning to wonder why I’m here.”

“Then why did you bond with me?” Q sneered at the man.

“Because at the moment I thought you were valuable enough to risk it. You were important to . . .” Bond was going to say, ‘ _to me’_ , but he quickly changed the words. “to MI6. My mistake.”

Q felt suddenly guilty. He struggled to not collapse into crying again. “I am valuable. I’m the best.”

“Best at what? Being a thankless pain in the arse?” Bond snapped back. His own anger growing instead of receding.

“You know I’m the best Quartermaster.” Q hissed. “I’ve done everything to protect MI6 and England. There is no possible way that Alex could have gotten through my firewalls. You are idiot if you think I’m a security risk.”

“I know that I risked my life trying to stop a traitor. That I bonded to you to save your life and you have been nothing but ungrateful for that. My own loyalty is now in question because of my association with you. I’ve been yanked from fieldwork to babysit a brat. And everything you say makes me think you were working with Turner. And you are just as guilty as that bastard.”

Q slapped Bond’s face. The crack was loud. Bond remained emotionless. He stared at Q with laser intensity. Q suddenly felt the same apprehension Bond’s victims felt just before he killed them. He could see the man inside shut down and the unfeeling assassin step forward. Q dropped his hands and stepped back further into the room. He held his breath as he waited for Bond to attack.

The moment dragged on for several seconds. Then Bond slowly turned and left the room. He said nothing. Q was shaking. He thought his legs were going to collapse under him. It was childish but Q gave in to the impulse. He slammed the bedroom door. He never heard Bond leave the flat.

~Q~

Alec Trevelyan’s flat was on the east side of London. There was something about the seediness of the area that suited Alec. It was two in the morning when Alec rolled out of his bed, woken up by heavy pounding on his front door. His 9mm Tokarev already in his hand when he opened the heavy metal door of his converted warehouse flat. A very drunk James Bond leaned against the brick wall. Bond pushed himself off the wall and tried to shove his way into Alec’s flat. The Russian wasn’t surprise by his best friend appearance.

Alec let James in and the man immediately sprawled across Alec’s sofa and demanded a drink. Two hours later, the two Double ‘O’s were finishing the bottle of vodka.

“That fuck’n little arsewipe has the balls to call me stupid!” James’ words weren’t slurring but Alec could tell his friend was quite drunk.

He had only seen James this drunk once before. It was after he had returned from Kazan, Russia and capturing the man who had betrayed Vesper Lynn. Alec sat up with James that night, too, and listened as James ranted about Vesper and being betrayed by her. It was the only time Alec had feared James’ self-destructive nature would win out. It was how he knew James had been deeply in love with the woman.

“Well, you did bond with him.” Alec looked at the empty bottle and wondered if it was best to tell James there was no more liquor in the flat. A lie, of course.

“Yeah, like that means anything to the pipsqueak. I mean really, he is a fuck’n great shag, but I’ve had better.”

Alec smiled at his friend. “Why’d you do it then.”

“You know . . . everybody knows . . . I was saving his life.” James waved his hands at the mythical ‘everybody’.

“James, he wasn’t for sure going to die.”

“Farris said he would . . . she’s got a nice ass on her, doesn’t she? I’ve always thought if I got her away from . . .”

“Focus, James. We’re talking about Q.” Alec smirked.

“Yeah, Q. Where’s the bottle?”

“Empty. What do want to do about Q. You are bonded now, you need to consider the long term.”

“Get another one.” James said firmly.

“Another omega?”

“No, the bottle - fuck the omega.” James then giggled. “I already did. That’s how I ended up in the shit. Why is it my fault? I was told to go after Sokolov. Turner shot at me. Would it have been better to let the little prick kill me? Then everyone would have been happier. Sokolov would have the information. Tuner could keep spying and Q would have his fuck’n perfect alpha.” James leaned his head back against the sofa and closed his eyes. “Where’s that bottle?”

“We’re out. And no one would be happy if you had failed your assignment. Turner was a traitor and you stopped him. Sokolov escaped but he knows we know about him and he will have a hard time getting away from us for good. And as for Q . . . I think he had a fuck’n perfect alpha right now.”

Alec waited for James to say something else, but instead of commenting on Alec’s assessment, Bond started to snore. Alec gave a grunting laugh. He stood up and grabbed James’ knees. He twisted the man around so he was laying on the sofa. Alec pulled James’ shoes off and tossed a blanket over him.

“In the morning, we’ll figure out how to convince you that Q and you are now a couple.” Alec smiled at his friend and went back to his own bed. 

~Q~

It was afternoon before Bond returned to his flat. He didn’t know if Q was going to be there. He wasn’t sure if he would be happier if the omega wasn’t. Q was technically under house arrest, but without Bond there to stop him, he doubted the man would stick around. Tucking the small package under his arm, Bond unlocked the door and stepped into his flat. In the middle of living room was an opened cardboard box, roughly two and half feet by two and half feet. There were no marking or address on the box.

The flat was silent. Bond stepped over the box and glanced down into it. It was empty.

“SHIT!” Bond heard Q gasp. He turned around to see the young omega walk out of the hallway carrying another empty box.

“You scared me, Bond.” Q said as he dropped the box. “Where have you been?”

Before Bond could answer, there was a knock on the door. Bond didn’t say anything but went over and check the security camera to see who was standing on the other side. Eve Moneypenny was smiling up at the camera.

Bond opened the door and just stared at the woman.

“James? When did you decide to wander home?”

Although Bond was standing in the middle of the doorway, Eve pushed passed him. In her hands she had two bags from Marks and Spence. She walked through the flat like she was familiar with it.

“Moneypenny? What are you doing here?” He asked as he watched the woman set the bags on the counter in the kitchen.

Eve opened the bags and started pulling out packages of ready made meals and boxes of tea leaves.

“Security released Q’s clothes this morning. I brought them over only to find him without anything to eat.” She turned and looked over her shoulder at the two men. “Not even one tea bag or a stale biscuit. Shame on you, James. You should know better.”

Bond closed the front door rather loudly. “I was planning on going to the shops today. After I checked with my . . . with Q to see what he would like. I was also going to make arrangements to have a decorator come in and make the place more . . . comfortable.”

Eve stacked four different tins of tea on a shelf and then pulled a brand new electric kettle out of the last bag.

“Good, that way I won’t have to shoot you for not taking good care of your bondmate.” Eve said.

She turned around and stepped up to Q. The woman leaned over and gave the young omega a kiss.

“Sweetie don’t worry. R and your minions are working around the clock to find proof that you are innocent.”

Bond glared at the woman. Q simply smiled at his friend.

“Any idea if Tanner will let me have anything else from my flat or my office?” Q asked.

“I don’t think so. Anything that Alex had easy access too is being carefully searched. I saw your couch and chairs were sliced open and stuffing removed. All his things are being torn apart looking for information. All your books and photos are being kept by the ‘Counter-espionage’ department.

Bond noticed Q’s face cloud over with grief. A sudden need to comfort the omega came to him. He didn’t want to dwell on what that need meant.

“Thank you for bringing Q his clothes, Eve. If we need anything else, I will call you.” Bond said coldly.

Q leaned into Eve’s space and the other omega wrapped her arms around Q’s narrow shoulders. Again, a wave of guilt and jealousy crashed into Bond.

Eve turned and looked Q in the face, ignoring Bond. “Call me if you need anything. I’ll let R know you are alright. We love you, darling.”

Q gave the woman weak smile and nodded his head. Eve let go of Q and glared at Bond as she walked passed him. Eve opened the door of the flat and left by herself. Never saying another word to Bond.

Bond waited until the door was closed. He turned back to see Q picking up the box he dropped. He set it next the other box in the living room.

“I was really going to get some food today.” Bond said trying to sound apologetic. Q didn’t look at him but just hummed softly. “And I was going to get the decorator. I though the two of you could come up with something that you would find . . . pleasing.”

Q turned and looked at Bond. “You don’t have to you know.”

“Yes, I know, but I want to.” 

Q and Bond just stared at each other for a moment, then the alpha seemed to remember he was holding a package in his hand. He held it out to Q.

“Here, I thought you would like this.”

Q looked doubtful at it. He slowly took the package. It looked like it was a thin book but it was very heavy. He carefully unwrapped the brown paper around it, then gasped when he saw what it was. His eyes glassed over with tears. They fell and landed on the onyx frame that surrounded the photograph of Alex and himself. The photograph that had been on his desk at work.

“How did you?” Q wiped his eyes and swallowed the wail that was hovering in his throat. “Where did you get this?”

“I took it from your office before security got there. Alec was keeping it safe for you. I know every other photo you had of Turner was seized.” Bond felt the need to comfort the man intensify. “I just thought . . . maybe you would like to have one.”

Q rushed forward and threw his arms around Bond’s neck and squeezed the man tight to himself.

“Thank you, James. I’m sorry about what I said. Please . . .”

“We both said things.” Something primal in Bond growled when Q pulled back.

The younger man stepped back as he eyes stared down at the photograph again. Bond cleared his throat.

“I’ll go make the arrangements for the decorator now.” He said as he turned to leave the flat. Bond didn’t want to acknowledge that he didn’t want to leave Q alone. Instead, he focused on how he could get back into the field to track down Sokolov.

 


	8. What a Wicked Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bond is given a new assignment.

_‘What a wicked game to play, to make me feel this way.’_

After few weeks, Bond didn’t recognize his flat. Yes, his furniture was still in the living room and his artwork was finally hanging on the walls, but that was where the familiarity ended. There was a thick pale beige rug over the darkly stained hard wood floors in the living room. Attractive sheer curtains covered the bay windows. Brown linen blackout curtains could be pulled over the sheers and shut out not only light but also moderate street noise. Bookshelves were appearing on various walls and although, they were mostly empty, books were beginning to fill them in.

The kitchen now had a simple but attractive wooden table with two matching chairs set at it for intimate dinning. There was an electric kettle sitting and an American toaster next to Bond’s coffee maker. Food was waiting on previously empty shelves.

Q’s bedroom was the most changed. Q got the desk he requested, but instead of a computer, he had white boards on three of the walls. On the forth wall, he had pinned a map to it with sheets of handwritten notes surrounding it.

On the nightstand was the framed photograph of Q and Alex Turner that Bond had saved from his office. Every time Bond saw the photo of Q smiling at the dead man, he felt a burning sensation in his soul. He wondered if it was an aberration. Q smiling like that. So open and carefree. Bond had never seen the man smile like that. In fact, other than the night he had given Q the picture, he had never seen Q smile. Bond didn’t know why but that bothered him, a great deal.

“You know MI6 can see those walls. They know what you are doing.” Bond said as he stood in the open doorway. It was one of the few time Q had left the door open while he worked.

Q glanced at the man. He no longer seemed surprised by the alpha looming nearby.

“I don’t care. Maybe they will realize they really do need my help. Has Tanner said anything about me returning to work?”

“Work? No, but they have told me to bring you in for more questioning.”

Q sighed heavily. For the past two weeks, Q had been subjected to conversations, questionings, and lie detectors. They started off soft, just a friendly chat between Tanner and himself, with Bond shadowed in the corner. Then the friendly chats turned into more intense questioning with members from MI6’s interrogation team. They had been reasonable. It was obvious that the team had been holding back. Q didn’t know if it was because he was grieving for the lost of Alex or because they still respected him as the Quartermaster. It could have been the fact that whenever one of the team got too close to him, Bond would growl from the corner. At first Q was offended by the alpha’s behavior, but as the questions became harder and more frequent, he was relieved to have Bond there.

“Who will be cross-examining me today?” Q asked.

“The grand inquisitor, Kurt Anderson himself.”

Q noticed a tenseness to Bond’s frame. It was upsetting to him to see his alpha worried. But Kurt Anderson was the head interrogator at MI6. He was highly trained in acquiring information from individuals who were trained to not give any. Q, as well as most of MI6, were terrified of the man.

“Will this be an enhanced interrogation?”

Threats had been made but Q didn’t want to believe that MI6 actually would torture him for information he honestly didn’t have.

Bond tried to give the younger omega a reassuring smile. “No, nothing like that.”

The smile didn’t help Q’s apprehension.

~Q~

“You must be joking!” Bond sputtered at Tanner.

The two men were in the observation room for interrogation. Bond was not allowed into the room were Q was sitting across the table from Anderson. The older alpha was calmly reading through the file his team had complied from previous interviews. Q sat on the opposite side of the table facing the mirrored wall behind Anderson. Anderson’s voice came over the speakers in the darken room where Tanner and Bond watched.

“Tell me how you met Turner. Did he initiate the first contact?”

Q began to explain about meeting Turner one morning while jogging. Tanner reached over and turned the volume down on the speakers. “It is a reasonable request, 007. You are in the perfect position to manipulate the omega.”

Bond wanted to object because he wanted to listen to what Anderson was saying to his bondmate, but Tanner had made an unreasonable request of him.

“The omega who just happens to my bondmate. No, I won’t . . . I can’t.”

“It is nothing you haven’t been asked to do before. You can easily question him, while his defenses are lowered. He has no reason to doubt you.”

“We barely speak. Remember, I killed his other mate. And now you think with a little pillow talk I can get information out of the Quartermaster?” Bond didn’t want to tell Tanner that he doubted he would ever share Q’s bed again, even in the omega’s heats.

“I realize it’s awkward. I’ve seen the video feed.”

Of course, Tanner would have seen the video feed from the cameras in the flat. He would know that Bond and Q do not have a normal relationship. Bond’s attention turned away from the Chief of Staff and back to Q sitting at the table. He wasn’t sure what Anderson had just asked Q, but Bond could tell the young man was angered by the question. Q’s arms were crossed over his body. His legs were also crossed as he leaned back in the chair. A scowl was glued to Q’s face. His hazel eyes were shifting from glaring at Anderson to looking at Bond through the two-way mirror.

“It has worked in the past, you’ve ‘honey-pot’ more than one omega, 007.” Tanner said coldly.

“This isn’t some omega, Tanner. I won’t betray my mate.” Bond said

“Bond, you are a spy. You give your life to your country. Danny Holt is a suspected threat to that country. It is your duty to determine how dangerous Holt is to England. Now, I’m ordering you to use ever skill you possess to find out any information Holt has regarding Turner and Sokolov. Any skill! Or I will have to consider you a threat too?”

“You want me to seduce my own husband for you? You don’t even know for sure that Q was involved with the spying. He was being poisoned by Turner.”

“Or he was doing it to himself . . . to look innocent if Turner was caught. You and I both know if computer hacking is involved, there is no one better than Q who works here at MI6.”

Anderson asked some other question that made Q very angry. His face was turning red and Bond could see the young man’s fists ball up.

“You are ordering me?” Bond asked directly.

“Yes.”

“Any method I deem to use?” Bond asked at he turned to look at Tanner.

Tanner hesitated for a moment. “Yes.”

“Very good.” Bond nodded his head and marched out of the room.

The door of the interrogation room opened with a bang. Both Q and Anderson were startled. Bond walked in and grabbed Q by the elbow and lifted him out the chair.

“The interrogation is over.” Bond announced.

“I’m not done yet, 007.” Anderson said, still sitting at the table.

“Yes, you are.” Bond said as he pulled Q out of the room.

Tanner and Anderson watched as Bond marched Q out of the department and the building.

~Q~

The drive back to the flat from MI6 was silent. Bond’s attention was fixed on the road as Q glanced sideways at the man several times. Bond unlocked the door of their flat and entered, not waiting to see if Q was following him in. He tossed his keys into a bowl that sat on a table by the front door. Q stood in the open doorway staring down at the keys. Apprehension bubbling through him.

“Bond? What happened?” Q asked from the open door.

Bond didn’t answer him. He simply went to his bedroom, slamming the door closed.

Q came into the flat and closed the front door. He wasn’t sure what had set the alpha off. He wondered if it was the intimate questions Anderson had been asking about his relationship with Alex. Anderson asked if _‘Alex had forced their bonding or if Q had simply jumped into bed with the first alpha knot that paid any attention to him?’_ The implication of the question made Q want to erase Anderson’s credit history from every database he could think of. If he ever got his hands on a computer again he just might do that.

Bond’s bedroom door opened and the alpha stood there. “Q, come here.” Bond ordered.

Q glanced up at the man. Bond had changed out of his suit and into a pair of jeans and tight t-shirt. The man’s muscular chest was evident under the white cotton. Q hesitated for a moment then went to Bond. The alpha stepped back and waved the young man into his bedroom.

It was the first time Q had ever been in there. The room was remarkably comfortable looking. There was a queen-size bed with a padded headboard. Numerous pillows in various shades of blues and greens were arranged against it. There were bedside tables on either side with matching brass lamps. There was a dresser with a large mirror over the top of it that matched the style of the bed. A door led into an en suite bathroom. The door to the bathroom was open and Q could see the stark black and while tiles and a large shower inside. Another open door led to a walk-in cupboard where Q could see Bond’s suits lined up like soldiers for inspections.

In the corner of the bedroom was an overstuffed chair, with bookcases on either side of it. A simple standing lamp was beside the chair with a table nearby where a coffee mug sat. A tattered paperback book was opened face down on the table. A pair of wire-framed glasses beside the book. What appeared to be a hand-knitted afghan was tossed over the back of the chair. It looked like the perfect place to spend a rainy afternoon and Q wished he had known about the chair in the corner weeks ago.

Q stepped further into the room and James closed the door rather firmly. The loud slam made Q jump.

“Bond, what is it?” Q asked as he turned to see the scowl on the man’s face.

“I know you don’t trust me, Q.” Bond started. “But you know I have always believed in you.”

Q didn’t know if he could quantify Bond’s faith in him as ‘always’, but it was true that Bond accepted Danny as Quartermaster before any of the other Double ‘O’s did. They had worked well together from the start and Bond’s acceptance of the young omega had boosted Q’s position faster than anything else at MI6.

“Yes.” Q said, not positive where this conversation was going in the alpha’s bedroom.

Bond walked over to his closet and stepped inside while speaking. “This room doesn’t have any cameras in it. I told Tanner there wouldn’t be any reason to have one in here. And given how much of my life has been invaded by MI6 and the Queen’s government, I insisted no cameras be placed in here.”

Bond came out of the closet with a laptop in his hands. He held it out to Q. The young omega wanted to grab it but was uncertain if this was some kind of test. He glanced up at Bond with a quizzical look on his face.

“The faster you can prove your innocence the quicker you can return to MI6. I need your help in finding Sokolov and the agents need you at your computer. There’s Wifi in the building.”

“Secured?”

Bond nodded. Q was certain it wasn’t as secured as he would have liked it. He took the laptop away from Bond and glanced around the room.

“We need to work together, Q. We need to prove that you are cooperating. That we are . . . a mated couple.”

“A couple? Bondmates?”

“Yes,” Bond glanced away for a moment as if to compose himself. “It’s the only way I can prevent them from intensifying your interrogations.”

Q blanched.

“They said they were going to use enhanced methods?” Q asked. The frightening images of what Kurt Anderson and his team would do to get information out of Q flooded his brain.

Bond didn’t answer the man. He just turned and looked somber. The implication was real for the omega. Fake a relationship or be tortured.

“Sit on the bed. The chair is mine.” Bond said as he walked passed Q and sat down. He reached up and turned on the light. Picking up the book, as he slipped the glasses on.

“I didn’t know you wore glasses?” It was the most ridiculous thing to comment on given what they had just been talking about.

Bond glanced up. His expression was neutral and closed off. “Only when I expect to be reading for a prolonged period of time. You will be at it for awhile, won’t you?”

“Oh, yes . . . probably.” Q kicked off his shoes and slid up onto the bed.

Bond watched him covertly as the young man flexed and twisted on top of the duvet. Somewhere inside the alpha, a spike of lust surged forward, but Bond quickly extinguished that flame.

~Q~

It was hours later when both men came out of the bedroom. There weren’t linked arm in arm but they were closer. There wasn’t the open hostility between the agent and the Quartermaster. Bond decided to grill some chops while Q made a salad for dinner. The two worked together in a more relaxed atmosphere. There were subtly touches and moments where it looked like the two were going to hug or kiss.

“You never told me what your favorite food was.” Bond said casually as he poured a glass of white wine for the younger man.

“Italian.” Q said as his eyes were fixed on the glass. Bond had filled it quite full. He wondered if it was a mistake or did Bond actually thought Q drank that much.

The omega sipped the crisp cool wine and let the alcohol slide across his taste buds. “Apples. I taste apples.”

“Yes it’s a Californian wine from the Alexander Valley.”

“I thought all Californian wines came from Napa.” Q said as he took another sip.

“There are wineries all over northern and central California. Many wineries claim to be in Napa but get their grapes from elsewhere.”

Q hummed. He wasn’t surprised by the man’s knowledge of alcohol production. It seemed so natural just sitting there and talking to Bond. Discussing anything Q wanted as long as it wasn’t the mission to prove his innocence.

Q asked Bond questions about previous missions and where he had traveled. Bond was a good story teller and would embellish his stories with little side anecdotes about people he had met or things he had seen. Like running thorough a newly constructed wall in building as he chased a known bomber. Or at a hotel in the Bahamas where crashed a Land Rover into a line of parked luxury cars. By the end of the meal, the two were laughing together.

Q wanted to get back to the computer, but Bond covertly pointed to the camera in the corner of the room.

“Sit with me on the couch and let’s watch some TV.”

“Watch TV? You can’t be serious?” Q said astonished.

“Why not?”

“I just never thought you would do something so . . . mundane.” Q answered honestly.

“I’ll show you mundane.”

Bond grabbed Q’s hand and pulled him over to the couch. Pulling the younger man down to nearly sit in Bond’s lap, he positioned Q to lean back into his chest, while Bond’s arm wrapped over Q’s shoulder, possessively. Something about the whole scene seemed surreal yet also so comfortable.

Bond grabbed the remote control and turned the telly on. He started flipping through the channels until he came to the repeat of the old Bill Bailey show, ‘Black Books’. The two sat on the couch and watched the television for another two hours. Q began to relax and laugh along with Bond. He didn’t even flinch when Bond’s fingers interlaced with his.

“When can I get back to the computer?” Q whispered.

“You have to use it in my bedroom.”

“Alright. Let’s go.”

Bond leaned forward and started to nuzzle at Q’s neck. He dragged his lips down the young man’s neck. Q instantly tensed and began to move away, but Bond’s arm kept him pinned to James’ chest.

“We need to convince whoever is watching us that we are going in there for something other than breaking the direct order denying you internet access.” Bond whispered as his other hand moved over to palm at Q’s thigh.

“You want to make it look like we are going to . . . have sex?” Q’s voice shook.

“I knew you were a quick learner. It’s just for show, Q. Relax and follow me . . . for once.”

Bond grabbed at Q’s shoulder and pulled it. Twisting the young man to lay on top of the agent. Bond cupped Q’s face between his hands and pulled him into a searing kiss. Q flayed. He wasn’t sure what he was doing. He understood what Bond had said, but he had never been good at acting.

He pressed his hands into Bond’s chest as the alpha kissed and licked at his lips. He blinked wildly as Bond removed his glasses, then leaned up and kissed Q’s forehead.

“Let’s try and make this believable, Q.” Bond whispered against the younger man’s lips.

Q was floundering. He needed to get back to that computer but he wasn’t sure if making out with Bond was something he was capable of doing.

“Q?”

Danny’s brain finally kicked in. _‘Remember Alex. You’re doing this to prove your innocence . . . to prove Alex’s innocence.’_

Q leaned down and initiated the next kiss. It was hungry and open. Q biting at the alpha’s lips as he opened his own mouth demanding more. Bond obliged. He licked into Q’s mouth, tasting the wine from dinner and the freshness of Q’s scent. Bond’s hands slipped down from Q’s face and traveled down the omega’s back. He felt the flexing and stretching of the long muscles in Q’s back as the younger man arched and twisted over Bond’s body.

Q’s hands slipped up and dragged through Bond’s hair. Lightly pulling and causing the alpha to growl at him. Bond thought if this had been a real mission, he would be working on Q’s clothes at this moment. Undressing the omega and having sex with him right here on this couch. His body already responding rapidly to the scent and sounds that the smaller omega was making.

“Bedroom . . .” Q said loud enough to be picked up on the microphones in the room.

“Yes . . .” Bond wrapped his arms around Q’s body and sat up. He kept his grip on the man, forcing Q to wrap his legs around Bond’s hips as the alpha stood and carried Q down the hallway. The two men still kissing as they went.

Once the door was closed, Q stopped kissing. He leaned back and tried to push himself out of Bond’s arms. Bond hesitated for a moment then let Q’s legs slip down to the floor and the young man escape his embrace. For several drawn out seconds, the two stood, staring at each other. Neither one sure of their next move.

Q seemed to return to himself the fastest, but only because Bond wanted to continue the kissing.

“I’ll get to work.” Q whispered.

Bond’s mind registered the voice of his Quartermaster in his ear. It took the man a moment to realize Q was there with him and not just another mark.

“Yes, of course. I’ll taking a shower.”

Q took another step back and out of the man’s reach. “Alright. I’ll take mine once you are done. And I guess for appearance sake, I’ll need to sleep in here tonight.”

“Yes, you will.”

Bond stepped around the young man and went into the bathroom. He closed the door and gently rubbed down the hard erection in his jeans. Bond grimaced. The shower was going to be colder than he wanted.

~Q~

Bond left Q sleeping in his bed. He had received an early morning summons to report to the Riverhouse. Bond walked into Tanner’s office just after eight in the morning. Tanner was already busy with piles of files on his desk, surrounding him.

“Good morning, 007.” Tanner glanced up briefly as the agent walked in. Bond took a seat across from Tanner. “Anything to report?”

“Not yet. Just started the . . . mission.” Bond crossed his legs and pulled on the crease at his knee.

“Anderson wants your head on a pike. He didn’t appreciate you pulling the Quartermaster out of the interview so suddenly.” Tanner said without looking up at the man.

“I needed to gain Holt’s admiration quickly. Saving him from the ‘big bad’ alpha worked.” Bond said. He really didn’t care what Anderson thought or wanted.

“It seemed that Holt lowered his defenses last night.”

Bond tensed at the information that their staged make out session was not only observed but more than likely the gossip of MI6 now.

“You did order me . . .”

“Yes, I did. Good job.” Tanner looked up from his paperwork as he set his pen down. “I realize this has placed you in a difficult position. If Danny Holt is found to have engaged in espionage against England, he will be arrested and imprisoned.”

Bond forced himself to remain indifferent to the idea. He needed to convince Tanner of his loyalty.

“If he is guilty he should be shot. Either way, it means little to me. Yes, he is my bondmate, but that only happened to maintain his life to determine the truth.”

Tanner tutted softly under his breath. His grey green eyes studied Bond for several seconds.

“I appreciate your honesty, Bond. It is a difficult mission and I appreciate you complying with my orders.”

Bond shifted in his chair. “I may not have completely been compliant, sir. I’ve allowed Q access to my laptop.”

“Oh?” Tanner raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, to gain more of his confidence. He will believe I am working to help him prove his innocence while subtly questioning him about Turner. Soon, he will let me know how much of Turner’s plan he knew or if he was the one actually running the operation.” Bond said coolly.

“You think Q was the one actually spying and not his husband?” Tanner asked.

“You did bring up that idea yesterday. Q was the smarter of the two men. He had better access to information. He is the omega.”

“What has that got to do with anything?”

“He would be less likely to be suspected. No one would want to believe an omega would go against his alpha. Besides, who better to get through the firewalls of our security than the man who designed them?”

Tanner watched Bond for several seconds then smiled. “Quite. Good to see you are thinking clearly, 007.”

The door banged open and Eve Moneypenny rushed in. “Sir, there’s been a panic alarm from one of the executives!”

“Who? M?!” Tanner stood up.

“No, Q! It came from Bond’s flat!”

Bond was running out the door of Tanner’s office before the man could tell him to go. Q was calling for help. Something had happened and Bond wasn’t there to protect his omega.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't why I made Tanner and M so mean in this story. Sorry if you are fans of them. Be warned the next chapter will have a description of torture. Know your triggers and respect them.


	9. Dream about You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sokolov questions Q.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING torture description in this chapter.

_‘What a wicked thing to do, to let me dream of you’_

Q had never been this scared before. They had stripped him naked and thrown him into a basement room. The concrete floor and walls were cold as ice. He was shivering so he pulled himself into a tight ball trying to save his body heat. When Q had woken up that morning, he never expected to be kidnapped and thrown into this hole.

After spending half the night working on the computer, he had woken in Bond’s bed. The alpha’s scent had been surrounding him. Q would never admit to it, but he wallowed in the numerous pillows and relished the soft cotton sheets. It felt so good. The alpha’s scent had been calming to him and after so many days of fear and confusion, it felt wonderful to have a few moments of reassuring peace.

Then he remembered it was Bond who had killed his bondmate, Alex. It was Bond and MI6 who were keeping him under house arrest. And MI6 and Anderson who were threatening to torture him if he didn’t tell them things he didn’t know.

Slowly and regretfully, Q sat up in Bond’s bed. The alpha was not there. He remembered Bond falling asleep in the chair in the corner but the chair was empty. The blanket Bond had used, neatly folded and hanging over the armrest.

Q groaned as he climbed out of bed. He stumbled into the bathroom. Bond had insisted Q wear some of his pajamas. The alpha insisted that it was important that Q didn’t look like he had slept in his clothes when he was supposed to be sleeping with his alpha. Unfortunately, the bottom half of Bond’s pajamas easily slipped off Q’s narrow hips so it was just simpler to do without that to struggle to keep them on. Q only had the top on as he studied his face in the mirror.

The dark bags under his eyes, from a late night with Bond’s laptop, were evident. He had searched for anything that would prove his and Alex’s innocence. He had in fact found three separate videos and ‘screen grabs’ from social media of Alex and Sokolov together. He couldn’t admit to it but it was becoming harder for Danny to deny that Alex had been spying.

Bond had fallen asleep when Q had made the discovery. As he looked at his reflection, Danny tried to decide if he was going to tell the Bond the truth. Would it help his own defense if he told Bond that he knew Alex may have been guilty or would it just make himself look more culpable? Q didn’t know.

He decide the only way to answer such a question was after several cups of tea.

He stumbled out of the bedroom and down the small hall towards the kitchen. As he stepped into the living room, he heard a thick accented voice.

“Finally, I thought you’d never get up.”

Q jumped back and glanced over at the white haired man sitting on the sofa. Uri Sokolov. Q ran back down the hall and into his own bedroom. He quickly locked the door. Glancing around for a weapon, he saw his mobile sitting on the charging pad on his desk. He rushed forward and quickly typed in the panic code for MI6 executives. He didn’t even think that maybe he had been removed from the list of executives because of the suspension he was a traitor.

The bedroom door was easily kicked in. Two burly men pushed themselves into the room. Q dropped the phone and kicked it under the bed. Sokolov followed the two betas in.

“Alex said you were very attractive. He also said you were smart. I guess he couldn’t be right about everything.” Uri Sokolov smiled wickedly at Q. He turned to the two betas. “Take him.”

They grabbed Q. The younger omega was too frightened to even fight them. He was quickly tied up. They made Q squat down into a large canvas duffle bag. They pulled the nylon rope taut and the bag closed over Q’s head. One of the big betas easily picked the bag up and threw it over his shoulders. As they left Bond’s flat, Sokolov glanced at the camera in the corner of the room. He smiled as he thought of how they had hacked into the feed and all MI6 would see would be a loop on an empty flat. They would be long gone before they even knew that the Quartermaster had been taken.

The van was waiting by the curb as they walked out. The man carrying Q tossed the canvas duffle bag onto the floor of the cargo compartment. Q hit hard. His head bounced hard against the metal floor. A soft groan slipped out of his mouth before he could stop it. He could hear the betas laughing at him. One of them kicked the bag, hitting Q in the ribs. Again they laughed. He would be bruised and blooded by the time they got him out the bag, if they were ever going to let him out.

~Q~

When Bond arrived back at this flat, he saw the armed response team standing out front. The black visors on their helmets were lifted showing their tanned faces. The team was milling around in the hallway in front of Bond’s front door. Bond ignored them and pushed passed them and into his flat.

Gordon Morris, 009, was standing in the living room talking to the team leader.

“Morris!” Bond said as soon as he saw the Double ‘O’.

Bond didn’t like the man. He was too cocky for Bond. Always sure he was right, which was normal for a Double ‘O’, but Morris relished pointing out when others made a mistake and was never willing to accept his own. Beside the fact the Morris was an alpha and uninvited into Bond’s territory. Morris turned and saw the determined expression on Bond’s face. The set jaw and the clenched teeth. The laser sharpness of his blue eyes.

“The omega’s not here,” was all Morris said. He turned to the officer. “Are we done? I need to report to Tanner.”

Bond glanced around as the team leader looked questioningly at the blonde alpha. Morris sighed dramatically at the team leader. As if this was his flat and the team had invaded his own territory instead of Bond’s. The team leader, detecting an oncoming fight between the two alphas, didn’t want to be in the middle of two Double ‘O’s trying to rip each other apart.

“Sir, we’ve searched the premises and found no sign of the Quartermaster. There wasn’t any indication of how many intruders but I will file a complete report with the Chief of staff.” The team leader addressed all his comments to Bond, ignoring the rapidly fuming 009.

“Any sign of forced entry?” Bond said as he started to head towards Q’s room.

“The door to the bedroom was kicked in. Q Branch reports that the cameras were hacked into. All that is on the screen is a recorded loop of an empty room. No one noticed it.” Bond simply nodded to the man. The team leader hesitated then turned to leave. He closed the door behind him after he ordered his men to leave.

Bond looked around Q’s bedroom. The hollow panel door was broken at the doorknob. Wood splinters littered the carpet. The room itself was undisturbed. The bed was still neatly made. The papers were still pinned to the wall. Nothing seemed to be out of place.

“I found his phone under the bed. He must have run in here when he saw the intruder.” Morris said. He had followed Bond into the small bedroom. Morris foolishly positioned himself in the doorway then said. “That is if he was actually kidnapped and didn’t just run away.”

Bond turned and glared at the man. “Why would you think he would run away?”

“I found your computer in the other bedroom. It is obvious that Q spent the night in there.”

“It’s not what you think.” Bond said dispassionately.

“What I think is that you were played.”

“No.”

“Let me guess . . . you convinced him to sleep with you. The two of you had sex and you left this morning to see Tanner. He found your computer and hacked into the cameras. Once he had the loop playing, he walked out the front door.”

“After sending a panic alarm? No, that’s not what happened.” Bond said. He thought the man was an idiot. Bond went and stood right in front of the Morris. His blood thrummed with the need to rip the man’s throat out. He pushed himself into Morris’ personal space, threatening.

“You didn’t have sex with him and he didn’t find your computer and use it?”

“No and . . . no. I gave him the computer.” Bond refused to back down.

“That’s against your orders!”

“JAMES!? 009 . . .” Alec Trevelyan stood in the empty living room.

Bond pushed Morris back and out of the way. He marched into the living room where his best friend was standing.

“Is Q alright?” asked Alec.

“Don’t know.” Bond said. He felt a burning need inside. He wanted Q. He wanted to see the young man, hold him and know if he was alright. Not knowing was giving him a sensation of failure and frustration. He couldn’t understand why.

“I spoke to Anna in Q Branch.” Alec mentioned R by her civilian name. Bond had wondered numerous times if his friend was or had been in a relationship with the woman. “She said that the CCTV cameras went down in a half mile radius of here around nine this morning.”

“Simultaneously?” Bond asked. Alec’s expression told Bond the truth.

All the cameras had malfunctioned at the very same moment.

“Does she think the Quartermaster did it?” Morris asked from behind Bond’s back.

Alec glanced over Bond’s shoulder at the other agent. Alec sneered at him. “No one with half a brain thinks that.”

Bond turned and looked at Morris. “No reason for you to be here. Why don’t you go back to your tanning salon.”

Morris growled softly. “Haven’t you heard? No one wants to wrinkle skin like you, old man.”

Bond felt the need to put the younger alpha in his place. He subtly shifted his weight forward. Alec caught the movement and stepped forward, slipping himself between Morris and James.

“Leave while you still can, Morris. You shouldn’t have come here in the first place.” Alec said threatening.

“I was ordered here. You know about orders don’t you. You must have heard of them since you’re so good at ignoring them.”

“Get the fuck out of here.” Bond’s voice dropped to low snarl.

Morris was about to say something, when he caught the look in Bond’s eyes. The cold unadulterated hatred. He glanced at Alec and saw the exact same response. He backed up and ducked his head down, unconsciously submitting to the two more powerful alphas.

“I’ll inform Tanner about the computer. He may consider the Quartermaster running instead of missing.” Morris said as he forced himself to not run out of the flat.

“Prick.” Alec hissed as the man fled.

“Exactly.” James turned away and glanced around his flat.

If felt wrong Q not being there with him.

“Any ideas,” asked Alec.

“I need him back.” James said firmly. Forcing himself to remain calm and not tear his flat apart looking for anything to tell him where Q was. “I want him back.”

“Well, let’s see what Anna can find for us.”

~Q~

 

Q was shivering in the corner when Sokolov and the two betas returned. The young man squinted up at them. His glasses having been taken from him the same time as his clothes. One of the betas came over and grabbed Q by the arm and pulled him off the ground. The second beta set two straight-back wooden chairs facing each other. Sokolov sat in one and the beta pushed Q down into the other one.

Q tried to not shake. He folded his hands into his lap trying desperately to cover himself.

“What do you want?” Q asked.

“Information.” Sokolov said almost teasingly. “I think Alex exaggerated about you. He said you were intelligent, but obviously, you are not.”

Q glanced between the three men. The two betas looming over him and Sokolov who sat across from him with an enigmatic smile on his dry lips.

“I refuse to spy for you.” Q said trying to sound unafraid.

“I haven’t asked you to spy. I sincerely doubt you would be any good at it.” Sokolov said leaning back in the chair. The wood groaned softly from the shift in weight.

“What information do you think I have that I would willing give to you?”

“I didn’t say anything about willing. Although it would be more pleasant for you if you did answer me truthfully and quickly.”

Q gave a half-hearted laugh. Tipping his head up to seem more courageous. Before he knew it, one of the betas had grabbed Q’s hand and yanked his pinkie finger to the side. The bone easily snapped. The pain was both sudden and sharp. A burning sensation radiated up Q’s hand and arm.

“FUCK!” Q shouted.

The beta held the young omega’s hand in his own as Sokolov started speaking. “Alex was to supply me with a list.”

Q remained silent. His eyes fixed on his broken finger. The odd angle it was at and the throbbing pain that pulsed through his hand with every heartbeat.

Sokolov slapped Q’s face to regain his attention. “The list?”

“I don’t anything about a list.” Q said.

The beta broke another finger on Q’s hand. Q screamed again and bent over. He tried to pull his hand back but the man wouldn’t let go.

Sokolov sighed and shook his head. “This is taking too long. String him up.”

The two betas pulled Q out of the chair and kicked it away. One man handcuff Q while the other flipped a rope over a hook in the ceiling.

~Q~

Bond and Alec were standing over R’s shoulder as the woman typed on her keyboard. On the large computer screen on the wall, a satellite map of London. The streets were crowded with morning traffic.

“We’ve found three vehicles that could have transported Q away from the flat around the time the cameras were hacked and right after the panic alarm was sent. A black saloon, a delivery truck and a white panel van.”

Bond watched as the three vehicles headed away from the area around his flat in different directions. The large computer screen suddenly split into four different views. One of Bond’s building and one for each car as it drove away.

The delivery truck drove east and turned onto a major street. Travelled further into the city, then turned down a street with townhouses on either side. The truck pulled up in front of a house and the drive got out. Bond and R watched as the driver walked up to the house and knocked on the front door.

“The delivery truck was legit. What about the saloon?” Alec asked.

R reduced the view of the delivery van and moved her attention to the black saloon. It was driving north, heading for the A-5. It appeared to be speeding and in a hurry to get to the duel-carriageway.

“Speed it up.” Alec said.

R tapped on her keyboard the recording of the car leaving the London area sped up, showing the saloon traveling north. The black car was now passing other vehicles on the roadway, quickly distancing itself from London.

“I bet that’s it.” Alec said. “James what do you think?” Alec started to shift expecting Bond to agree with him and two men would run for the helicopter that was waiting to take them.

Bond was studying the white panel van that was moving slowly south from the area of his flat. The van crossed the river and was heading further south.

“Follow the van.” Bond said.

“James? The saloon is getting further away.”

“Follow the van.”

R glanced up between the two alphas. She held Alec’s gaze who simply nodded to her. She switched the view from the A-5 cameras of the saloon and over to the local traffic cameras of the panel van. The van was now driving through a residential area of older dilapidated homes. Many abandoned and scheduled for destruction. Graffiti covered the brick walls and many of the CCTV cameras had been vandalized. The van turned down an alley and disappeared.

“Where is that?” Bond asked as he stepped forward and looked up at the screen.

“I’ll send GPS coordinates to your mobile. I don’t know exactly where he is there but we can get a drone up and search the area.” R said. She twisted and called over her shoulder. “TJ, I need a Mark Four up and flying south towards Streatham.”

“On it, gov.” The brash young man shouted.

~Q~

Tears were streaking down Q’s face. He was trying to stand on his tiptoes to keep the strain of the handcuffs off his wrist and his tendons. Two finger of his right hand were bent at an awkward angle and a burning sensation radiated down his arm. They had him tied to the ceiling, naked, as they beat him.

Sokolov stood near the door, asking the questions. It was one of the betas that was wielding the baton. It was a simple stick, like a cut off broom handle. No more than two inches in diameter, but every strike stung like a gun shot. Q was certain at least some of his ribs were broken, but most of the strikes had been to his back. Q feared his back would be irreparably damaged before it was over.

“Alex told me he had the data. He said he collected it the morning he was killed. He would give it to me once we got the two of you out of the country. Where is it?” Sokolov asked calmly.

“I don’t know!” Q shouted.

The beta swung the stick and hit Q in the thigh just below his hip. Q screamed, as his leg went numb for a moment. He lost his balance and put his full weight on the flat of his feet. The pull on his wrist was excruciating. He struggled but pushed up onto the balls of his feet again to take the strain off his wrists.

“He never told me anything.” Q tried to say. His voice breaking.

“Alex said it was on a thumb drive.” Sokolov continued. “He must have given it to you.”

“No . . . he gave me nothing . . . no thumb drive . . . no files!”

“Your bondmate never gave you anything?” Sokolov teased.

“MI6 took everything away from me! They have it! They must!”

“If they did then they still wouldn’t be looking for it too.” Sokolov nodded his head towards the beta.

Another blow and Q screamed again. His heart was racing. His mind was becoming fuzzy. Q closed his eyes. He just wanted this to end. He just wanted the pain and agony to stop. To never hear Sokolov’s voice again. Tears and sweat burned in his eyes, but he kept them closed. He just wanted Bond to come and save him.

The alpha’s intense blue eyes focused in Q’s imagination. He believed he could hear the man’s voice teasing at him. _‘Not as fun as you thought, being a field agent, is it?’_ Q flashed back to how many times he had heard Bond being beaten. How many times had he listened in as Bond was being interrogated? Briefly, he wondered why he couldn’t be more like Bond. More stoic? Braver?

Q latched onto the image of James Bond. The sound of his voice and the smug expression on the man as he spoke to Q. Q pushed himself to remember every encounter with Bond. Ever conversation. A flash of Bond’s naked chest came to Q. the sensation of feeling Bond’s hands run down his body. The taste of James’ mouth. Q wanted Bond to save him – again.

~Q~

TJ’s drone had located the van in less than an hour. It was parked in a back garden of a dilapidated house with a tall brick wall surround the rear of the property. The presence of a new satellite dish on the roof was suspicious. There were also cameras mounted over the back door. A quick records search showed the property had been purchased for cash less than a month ago by a man who had been dead for five years. Obviously false identification was used to file the title exchange.

Alec walked up the front path to the door that had new heavy duty deadbolts. He was wearing grey work coveralls and carrying a large yellow tool box. A grey flat cap was pulled low over his face. Alec glanced up at the camera that was positioned just under the eaves of the roof. It was difficult to see if you didn’t know what you were looking at. He quickly looked away then moved casually up the steps to the battered door.

“James’ are you ready?” Alec whispered. His voice easily picked up by the ear mics and carried not only to his partner in the back garden but also to Q Branch.

“Found a blind spot in the cameras. Already in the garden. Won’t be going through the door. Deadbolts will take too long to pick and the camera is directed right at the welcome mat. I’ll be coming through the window on the back right side. Looks like a bedroom and not the kitchen.” Bond said. He was squatting behind the white van. He subtly opened the door of the van and glanced inside. He didn’t see anything out of place, but he could smell Q’s scent.

“Knocking on the door in a count of five.” Alec said. He hesitated then knocked. The door opened after one knock.

“What?” the scruffy man asked who opened the door. He had a thick Eastern European accent. His three day beard growth was dark like his unwashed hair. Alec could smell the cardamom on him and the heavy scent of smoked paprika.

“British Gas . . .” Alec held up an identification card with his photo on it. “There’s been a report of a gas leak in the area. A street away. We are having to check each house for possible gas pockets.”

“What?” the man asked. He seemed confused and less hostile then when he first opened the door.

“We’re checking for gas. There was a leak. Nearly blew the house.”

“We don’t smell gas.” The man stepped back from the door.

“Yeah, well. Most people don’t even know what to smell for. They think it’s something else, like rubbish or stale water.” Alec stepped forward and pushed passed the confused man.

“Is it dangerous?”

Alec slipped his hand with is fake ID back into his coveralls. He turned and smiled at the man. “You can’t believe how fucking dangerous.”

The sound of breaking glass made the man turn his head down the hall. He took a step towards the back of the house but Alec swung the yellow metal toolbox and hit the man squarely in the belly. The man glanced back at Alec, his hand already moving towards the gun at the centre of his back. Alec’s hand was still in his coveralls. He pulled out his own gun with a silencer and shot the man in the face. The bullet entered right beneath the man’s left eye. The man slumped back against the wall. Alec reached out and grabbed him and let him fall slowly to the floor.

Alec closed the door and moved forward. He heard the distinct sound of a silencer firing. A soft thud and then the muffled sound of a falling body. James came around the corner and out into the hallway.

“Q?” Alec asked.

James shook his head no. “There’s a staircase leading down. You go upstairs. I’ll go down.”

James was moving before Alec could answer him. His footsteps were silent as he carefully walked down the stairs. Reaching the bottom, there was a large room with three closed doors. Behind the one to his right, he heard a muted voice then a soft thud followed by a scream.

“I DON’T KNOW!” It was Q’s voice.

Bond moved rapidly to the door. He didn’t know what was beyond it but he knew he had to get to his bondmate quickly. He kicked the door in. The old wood easily splinted and shattered. The door banged open and startled the people inside.

Instantly Bond registered the scene. Q was hanging by his handcuffed wrists. Naked and bleeding. One man stood to Q’s left, holding a stick ready to hit the omega. Another beta was standing off to the side. Bond shot the man with the stick first. He didn’t even have a chance to call out. He fell immediately at Q’s feet.

The second beta reached for a gun, but Bond shot him just as the man lifted his arm. A chair flew into the side of Bond’s body. Bond ducked and rolled as the chair crashed against him for a second time. Dazed, Bond struggled to turn and shoot. He pointed his gun and fired but missed the third man. He was still laying on the concrete floor when he heard heavy footsteps running up the wooden stairs.

Bond pushed himself up and rushed forward to Q. The young omega was barely conscious. His pale skin was bruised and bleeding in several places. Blood streaked down his thin arms from his wrists.

“Q!” Bond shouted.

“James! You came! You came!” Q mumbled.

Bond shot at the rope tied to the handcuffs. The bullet sheared the rope clean. Q fell into Bond’s arms. Q tipped his head and buried his face into Bond’s neck.

“You came! You came!” he kept repeating.

Gently Bond lowered Q to the floor as Alec rushed into the room.

“We need a medi-vac now!” Bond shouted.

Alec was moving before Bond could look up. Kneeling on the floor, Bond cradled Q in his arms.

“You came . . .”

“Of course, I came. I would never leave you.”


	10. You Never Felt That Way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Q wakes up in Medical

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the wonderful comments. I'm glad that you are enjoying this story.

_‘What a wicked thing to say you never felt this way.’_

When Q woke up in Medical, his first thought was he wished he was still asleep. The pain in his ribs made it difficult to breath. His legs and back were throbbing with every heartbeat. And then there were his wrists and right hand. He hesitantly lifted his arms and examined the heavy bandages around his wrists. His right hand ached but his fingers were both aligned correctly again and taped. For a brief moment, he wondered if they would still work as well as they did before. The idea of not being able to type as fast as he liked was even more terrifying than the thought he had injured his back and would be unable to walk.

“Farris said your fingers will heal just fine. But arthritis will be in your future in forty or fifty years.”

Q glanced to the side and saw Bond sitting in the chair. He was dressed in a dirty suit. A smudge of blood still on his right cheek where Q had rested his head.

“What about my wrists?”

“The skin was abraded, but the tendons and bones are fine. No long term damages. They are worried about your lungs. You have three broken ribs. You’ll need to sleep sitting up for a while to prevent pneumonia. Other than that, a lot of bruises and some hypothermia.” Bond stood up and moved closer to the bed. “I brought you your spare glasses.”

Bond carefully slipped the frames on Q’s face. The young man blinked his eyes as everything finally came into focus.

“How long did they have me?” It had felt like days. Q was afraid he might have given something away.

“A couple hours. They really worked you over quickly. They weren’t expecting you to walk out there alive.” There was something shaky about Bond’s voice. A tentativeness that Q didn’t understand.

He shivered under the blanket as more pain shot through his already bruised and beaten body.

“I don’t think I gave anything up. They just wanted to know about Alex.” Q said uncertainly.

Bond just stared at him with a neutral expression but Q could see a sadness in the agent’s eyes. Maybe Q had let something slip. Maybe he had betrayed MI6 while he was being tortured and Bond heard it. Q wished he was asleep again.

“Any chance I could get something stronger in the way of pain killers?” He asked, ducking his head, afraid of the Bond’s disappointment. Q wasn’t a field agent. He didn’t find being stoic an acceptable behavior.

“I already asked Farris to give you morphine. She wanted to make sure you woke up first and there wasn’t any concussion. Also, Tanner wants to speak to you.”

Q glanced up at the alpha. Bond must have seen something his Q’s expression because he quickly added.

“I told him to go hang himself. He could wait until you were stronger. I’ll let Farris know you are awake.” Bond turned to leave when Q reached out with his bandaged wrists and lightly touched the alpha’s arm. Bond turned back and looked at him.

“Thank you, James.” Q whispered.

For a moment the two men just simply stared at each other. Then James gave a soft smile that was still enigmatic.

“I’ll get Farris.”

He pulled away and Q’s hand dropped back onto the blanket. Q closed his eyes and leaned back against the pillows. The rough cotton and industrial detergent made his skin itch. He wished Bond had stayed but a nagging voice in his head told him that Bond was disappointed in him. That somehow Q had failed his alpha. A tear slipped out under his eyelashes and rolled slowly down his cheek.

He tried to remember what Sokolov had been asking him. He tried to shut out his screams and pain and concentrate on the man’s questions. He was asking about Alex. Sokolov believed Alex had given him something but Alex hadn’t. Everything that had been in their flat had been taken away by MI6 except his clothes. And if anything had been in his clothes then ‘6’ would have found it before they returned them to him. Why was Sokolov so certain Q had something valuable?

The sound of the door opening made Q snap his eyes open. A sudden unreasonable fear shot through the young man’s body. The fear that Sokolov was there again to question him. That he had just imagined Bond being there. That he hadn’t be rescued. He tensed then sighed when he saw Bond and Dr. Farris enter.

“Welcome back.” The doctor smiled at Q.

She quickly glanced over him then picked up the medical chart that was hanging at the foot of his bed. She flipped through several pages, glancing up to check the various machines surrounding Q’s bed.

“Any difficulty breathing?”

“Other than a sharp pain on the left side, no. My hands?” Q asked fearful of the answer.

“Breaks of the proximal phalanges of the third and fourth fingers of your right hand. There may also be damage to the digital flexor tendon of the third finger. We’ll have to wait and see.” Dr. Farris said without looking at the young man. Q thought he was going to burst out crying. He felt Bond’s hand gently rest on his shoulder then slid around to the other side. Gently pulling Q closer to the alpha’s side.

“Rehab?” Bond asked.

Dr. Farris glanced up at the two men. “Well, if it is really needed. I mean they’re just broken fingers.”

“How well would you be able to continue operating with damaged fingers, Farris?” Bond growled.

The woman seemed shocked by Bond’s attitude, then noticed the anxiety in Q’s face.

“I’ll schedule a consultation with OT and if there is some physical therapy to prevent any stiffness or loss of movement we’ll start as soon as possible.”

Q released the breath he had been holding. He felt himself slump into James’ side for a moment. The spicy scent of the alpha helped calm Q’s nerves.

“Thank you, Dr. Farris.” Q said softly. “When can I return to work?”

Q felt Bond tense slightly, then let go of Q. The alpha pulled his arm back and Q instantly missed its warmth.

“Well, Quartermaster, you have been through a lot lately. I feel you need to remain here in Medical for at least another forty-eight hours. Make sure you don’t develop pneumonia. OT can start physical therapy for your hand and wrists if you need it. But it will take weeks for those ribs to heal. Especially after the strain you have already been through.”

“The poison?” Bond asked.

“Yes.” Farris answered him simply.

“I still don’t understand how I was poisoned or why?” Q asked.

Bond glanced at Dr. Farris and the woman was silently asking whether or not she should tell him. Bond nodded his head.

“There are new drugs available that can completely eliminate the stress associated with ‘Grieving Heats’. They have been very promising. Normally, we can provide a combination of anxiolytics and propionic acid to reduce the symptoms, but . . .” She hesitated. “We couldn’t give you the drugs to lessen the severity of your ‘Grieving Heat’ because of the alkaloid poison. That is why it became imperative that an alpha bond with you, Quartermaster.” Q didn’t respond to her but instead just stared.

“Was Alex poisoned too?” Q asked.

“Alex’s toxicology was negative for it. You, alone, were exposed.” Dr. Farris faltered before she continued. Glancing at Bond for reassurance. “We found the alkaloid compound was in a prenatal herbal supplement. Were you taking those?”

“Alex got those for me. We thought it would help me get pregnant. We wanted pups. Would the poison have prevented me from becoming pregnant?” Q asked suddenly.

“Yes. The fact they were in the supplement is very troublesome. Whoever contaminated it knew what they were doing. The low dose you were given would not interfere with your heats but it would prevent you from staying pregnant if you were able to conceive in the first place.” Dr. Farris looked sadly at Q. “You were very lucky that James bonded with you. Because of the poison, we had no other way of saving your life.”

“So, James bonding with me was the only way I could have survived?” Q asked.

He felt the alpha step further away from him, but he couldn’t look at James.

“I can’t convince M but that’s correct. He saved your life. Just like he did today.” Dr. Farris gave Q a weak smile.

Q frowned and looked away from Dr. Farris. The implication of what the doctor had told him was evident. Q had been poisoned. Alex had not. The poison was in what Alex insist he take. 

Bond could see Q start to shake. His narrow shoulders shuddered as he pulled himself into a ball. Bond took a step forward but Dr. Farris reached out and took the alpha’s hand. Bond looked at Farris. Her eyes were warning him as she gently tugged him away from his crying mate.

“We’ll let you get some rest Q. If you need anything, please press the call button and a nurse will come in.” Dr. Farris said as she gently pulled Bond back away from the bed.

Bond didn’t want to go, but Farris was firm. She pulled the man out of the room.

“Let him rest. He’s been through so much and now he knows the truth.” She said.

“What do you mean?” Bond asked.

“It was Alex who was poisoning him.” Farris said quickly.

Bond’s face became very neutral as his fingers flexed for his gun.

She added, “I don’t understand everything that is going on . . . I mean I haven’t been read in on Q’s situation, but I know that Alex Turner was the only other person who had handled the poison that Q was being given. Whether Turner knew it would prevent Q from getting pregnant or if he planned of Q dying of his ‘Grieving Heat’, I don’t know. But we are certain it was Turner who was poisoning him.”

Bond had known about the poisoning and had believed Turner was responsible. Having his assumptions confirmed by Farris caused a surge of anger and violence to race through him.

Dr. Farris continued.

“He has been through hell, James. He’s been tortured and threatened with imprisonment. He’s lost his bondmate, finds himself bonded to someone he barely knows. Now, he’s learned that he was being poisoned by the man he loved. Although, I’m sure he will deny it. How much more do you think he can take?”

“He’s an intelligent man, Farris. He won’t lie to himself.”

“Intellectually he will be honest, but emotionally, he still loves the man regardless of your bonding. He still loves Alex Turner. Forcing him to acknowledge Alex was hurting him is just simply cruel, James.” Dr. Farris glared at the agent. “Don’t do it. He’ll only hate you more if you do.”

Bond stared at the woman for several seconds before he said. “As if he could hate me more than he already does.”

~Q~

Q had fallen asleep. When he woke the window showed a night sky. He glanced at the clock on the wall and saw that he had been asleep for several hours. He twisted in the bed and hissed. His ribs throbbed so suddenly that it caught his breath. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to relax.

He took several measured breathes. Relaxing more, he tried to take a deep breath and hissed again. The broken ribs made deep breathing difficult but it was better than it had been earlier. Q gave a silent thanks to Dr. Farris for giving him the stronger pain killer.

Q glanced around the room and noticed he was alone. He wasn’t expecting Bond to be there but he missed the alpha. He felt odd, almost abandoned. He didn’t like it.

There was a soft knock on the door and Q’s heartbeat began to speed up. He unconsciously smoothed the blanket over his lap. The door opened and a nurse poked her head in.

“Are we awake?” her voice was ‘sing-songy’.

“We? Mostly.” Q said as he rolled his eyes.

The female nurse came into the room and set a tray on a tray table. She pushed it over to the side of Q’s bed.

“You’ve slept all afternoon. Dr. Farris insists that you eat something though. Your alpha will want you healthy so you can go home.”

“My alpha?” Q asked confused for a moment. “My alpha is . . .”

There was a knock on the door and Bond pushes the door open. Q could see Bond had taken a shower and changed his clothes. He still looked tired and stressed as he walked into the room, his eyes studying the nurse and Q.

“Oh, he’s here.” The nurse gushed. She smiled broadly at Bond. “Look, he’s awake and waiting for you.”

Q glanced at the woman like she had a second head. Bond came in with a neutral expression on his face and stiffness to his frame. The nurse continued.

“Don’t worry, I won’t be long,” she turned to Bond. “But sir, remember he is recovering from a terrible accident. You need to be gentle with your omega. I know you are very concerned but it would be better if you tried to restrain yourself.”

“I will do my best.” Bond said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

Q heard the cynicism and felt a stab to his heart. He had missed Bond and had wanted the man there with him, but he thought Bond felt burdened by having an omega.

“James Bond is a highly trained agent. He knows what is expect of him.” Q said looking down at the unappetizing food because he could no longer look up at the alpha.

Confused by the rapid coolness in the room, the nurse continued to try and ease the tension.

“He is very devoted to you.” She said to Q. She patted his hand in a condescending manor. “You should have seen how he was stalking around Medical.”

“Bond stalking around medical? You’re new here aren’t you?” Q asked watching the woman smile at the agent.

“This is my second day.” She explained.

“I thought so.” Q said with a condescending smile. “Just wait until he is a patient. You’ll not be so excited to see him arrive here.”

The nurse looked confused. Q simply waved her off. She hesitated and looked at Bond. He ignored the woman. She quickly fled the room feeling wrong footed.

“Bond at least give her a few days of disillusionment before you crush her delusions too.”

Bond couldn’t help himself but gave the omega a smile not realizing Q was criticizing him. The sight of Q’s naked shoulders and the pale skin brought back flashes from Q’s heat. Sudden and rampant desire flushed over Bond. He glanced away as he forced himself to not stare at Q’s bandaged chest. Q thought Bond was just simply repulsed by him. A tenseness filled the room as the two men remained silent. Q’s fingers of his left hand fiddled with the cutlery on the tray as he struggled to not show his emotions.

“Have you spoken to Tanner, yet? Is he on his way down here?” Q asked breaking the awkwardness.

“He wanted to have you woken up and questioned.” Bond said as he crossed the room and took a seat.

“Why didn’t he?”

“Dr. Farris told him no. She said you needed to rest.” Bond said.

Q’s emotional pain increased when he learned it was the doctor and not Bond who had stopped Tanner from disturbing him.

“I can’t really tell him anything.” Q said glancing at the food again and then pushing the tray back.

“I told him that. I told him that Sokolov wouldn’t be torturing you the way he was if he expected your cooperation.”

Q glanced up at the alpha. Bond continued. “You should eat. If you don’t like what is in front of you, I’ll go and get you something you would like.”

Q ignored Bond’s offer as he clung to what Bond had said earlier. “You told Tanner that I wasn’t helping Sokolov?”

“Yes. I told him I believed you were innocent.” Bond admitted.

Q watched Bond carefully. “What changed your mind? The fact he kidnapped me or the beating? Did you hear Sokolov questioning me?”

Bond hesitated to answer but decide he would tell the truth to the man. “I told you before. I never believed you were involved. I told Tanner from the start you were innocent. You weren’t listening.”

“Bond, you know this has been difficult on me. I didn’t know what Alex was doing. I didn’t know that he was spying against MI6 and England. If I had known . . .” Q struggled to keep his voice even.

“It’s been difficult on everyone. I want to believe that Tanner and M know you are innocent, but they must answer to the Foreign Office. It’s politics.”

“Will this ever end?” Q asked.

“Maybe . . . hopefully.” Bond wasn’t exactly sure what Q wanted to end. The investigation into his innocence or their new relationship. “Now eat something before I get that annoying nurse back in here to force you to eat.”

Q glanced over at the alpha. Bond could see the tears in Q’s eyes. Every nerve fiber in James’ body was screaming at him to go and comfort his omega, but James didn’t move. He forced himself to stay in the chair on the opposite side of the room.

“Please, Q . . .” Bond cleared his throat of the emotion that choked him. “Please eat so I can take you home.”


	11. Make me Dream of You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Q learns the truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A very emotional chapter coming up.

_‘What a wicked thing to do, to make me dream of you’_

 

Bond and Q remained in Medical for only thirty-six hours. Farris’ staff requested she send Q home because they found a ‘visiting 007’ more intimidating than a ‘in-patient 007’. Farris had given Q strict instruction regarding activities and resting. Q assured her he would follower her advice. Bond insisted he would.

When Q and Bond came back to the flat, Q instantly noticed the cameras were missing.

“I guess that nearly getting beaten to death was proof of my innocence.” Q said as he glanced around.

“It went a long way to relieving M and Tanner’s concerns.” Bond said as he carried in a bag of groceries he had purchased before picking Q up from Medical.

“So happy to have been of assistance.” Q scoffed as he slowly walked back to his bedroom.

Q glanced at the walls and at all the notes and photos about Alex he had left there. James slowly came up behind Q, hesitant to leave the man’s side. James could feel the man’s confusion and emotional pain through their bond.

“Why didn’t he tell me?” Q asked no one in particular.

James wanted to reach out for Q but knew the young man wouldn’t want the contact. James eyes shifted from Q’s back to the photo of Alex and Q on the bedside table. Q smiling at the other alpha. The evidence of how much Q was in love with the traitor. James wondered if anyone would ever look at him that way and actually mean it. Actually love him that much.

“He loved you.” James hummed softly. “He thought he was protecting you.”

“He did a bloody great job of it.” Emotions clung to every word.

James stepped around Q and circled the room. “I was told he was a genius. Brilliant like you.”

“Yes, he was. I thought he was my perfect match. We met in school. He wasn’t like any other alpha I ever met before. He was . . . kind.” Q stepped up to one of the walls and slowly began removing the thumbtacks that were holding the papers. “I guess I’m not as smart as everyone thought. Nothing but an idiot. Like one of your marks.”

“What makes you think that?” James stood over in the corner of the room and stared at Q’s back.

Q didn’t answer. He was fighting the emotions running through him. Q shrugged his shoulders as he removed another photograph. Q winced as he tried to lift his arm to remove a sheet of paper above his head. James rushed forward and grabbed the tack, carefully removing it and handing the paper to Q.

“Thank you,” Q whispered. “I didn’t realize I was living a lie.” His voice was shaky as he tried to answer James’ question.

“I don’t think it was a lie.”

“Bond, honestly! He was spying for Sokolov and I have no idea for how long or why. He said he wanted to have children but then he gave me poison.” Q twisted away from James and wall. He wrapped his arms around his waist trying to hold his emotions in. “I don’t know if anything he said to me was true. Any of it!”

James wanted to console the omega but felt it wouldn’t be appreciated. He couldn’t stand for Q to reject him again. He picked up the onyx picture frame of Q and Alex and handed to the young man.

“That’s a picture of two people who care for each other. Who are in love.”

Q’s fingers slid down the edge of the frame. James thought he saw a tear clinging to Q’s long dark lashes. It pained him physically to see Q grieve so much.

“We were . . . back then.” Q’s fingertips gently stroked the glass over the photo then shifted back to the green frame. Q flipped the picture frame over and studied the back for a moment.

Suddenly, Q threw the picture frame as hard as he could to the floor.

“Q!” Bond shouted, confused by the young man’s behavior.

Q immediately dropped to his knees and started to push the broken glass and marble back. His fingers slipped carefully through the debris. James joined Q on the floor, his eyes trained on Q’s hands and not on the broken picture frame.

Q’s fingers nimbly sifted through the broken pieces until a slim black plastic chip appeared. He hesitated before he picked it up. He held it out to Bond as his had shook slightly.

“Q, what did you . . .” Bond stopped in mid-rank when he saw the chip. A memory card.

Instead of taking it away from Q, he wrapped his hands around Q’s elbows and gently lifted the omega up. He carefully guided Q away from the broken glass and smashed onyx and out of the room.

“Sokolov said . . .” Q started, then shivered violently.

Bond wrapped a protective arm around the young man’s shoulders.

“He said Alex had the lists. Sokolov said Alex gave them to me, but I knew I didn’t have it. I mean, ‘six’ searched everywhere. They took everything Alex and I shared.” Q’s voice was tinny and desperate.

“Everything but the photograph I took away from your office. I thought you would want it. I never thought . . .”

“Neither did I.” Q said when he looked up into Bond’s face. He held out the memory chip. “Will this prove my innocence now?”

“I’m sorry, Q. If I hadn’t taken the photograph . . .”

“Then ‘six’ would have found this hidden in my office at work. I would look even more guilty than I did before. I would never have seen the light of day again if they let me live afterwards.” Q said. His voice was remarkably calm now but it frightened Bond even more.

“But you were kidnapped and . . . and tortured for this.”

“If I had just found this before Sokolov took me, then I would still look suspicious to M and Tanner. Sokolov would probable still kidnapped me, but he would have learned the information was safely back in MI6 hands and he would have killed me out right. You did it again, 007.” Q said slowly shaking his head.

“What?”

“Saved my life.”

~Q~

Both Tanner and Eve came over to Bond’s flat. Tanner had brought a secure MI6 computer completely isolated from the internet. He slipped in the memory chip into a reader and opened the directory. Names and faces flashed across the screen. Alex Turner had downloaded the names of dozens of agents throughout the world. Not only MI6 agents but also CIA, FSB, MI5, and other agencies. It would have been another Skyfall disaster if the information had gotten out.

“And you’re saying you had no knowledge the chip was hidden in the picture frame?” Tanner asked as he studied the remains of the broken onyx frame.

“None. Alex gave it to me only days before he . . . he was killed.” Q said.

“Bond, why did you take this from Q’s office?”

“I knew the security teams would take everything Q had that was connected to Turner. I didn’t want him to forget his other bond-mate.”

Eve glanced at the alpha. She smiled softly. Her warm brown eyes seemed to be shining brightly. Bond wondered if it was a ploy, or was she really almost crying?

Tanner was still looking at the lists of names and the broken picture frame.

“What made you think to look there?” He asked.

“Sokolov. He kept telling me that Alex had given me the information. I kept telling him he didn’t. Sokolov was certain I had it and MI6 hadn’t found it yet. When we came home from Medical, Bond gave the photograph to . . .” Q glanced up at James for a moment. “He gave me the frame and I realized that was the only thing Alex had given me that MI6 hadn’t examined. I didn’t know if it was in there when I broke it. I only hoped I was wrong.”

Tanner nodded his head but kept frowning. He turned the computer off and pulled the memory chip from the port.

“This proves Q’s innocence.” James said. He wanted to move closer to Q but he didn’t think the young man would want him to. He forced himself to keep his distance while every base emotion inside him told him to go to his omega.

Tanner slipped the laptop computer into his messenger bag. The memory card he placed in a protective case and shoved it deep into his trousers’ pocket.

“No, it doesn’t. We still don’t know if the information was leaked.”

“Damn it, Tanner. Pull your head out of your arse!” Bond shouted. “You’ve known Q longer than I have! Has he ever stepped out of line? Ever did anything suspicious? Ever made you worry he was one of the bad guys?”

“Only when he was doing something you asked him to do.” Tanner said leveling the same angry gaze back at Bond he was receiving. “I know Q is the best damn Quartermaster we’ve had in a long while. I know I would trust him before anyone else I work with. But this is one of the worse possible scenarios you can think of. The Quartermaster being a double agent.” He gave Eve a sideways glance.

“No one wants to believe Q is guilty. No one would ever think he was. We all want to believe you are innocent.” The woman said but her smile didn’t reach her eyes.

“Q, I trust, but Danny Holt, I do not. I would never have believed Danny and his bond-mate would betray us but that is exactly what happened.” Tanner said.

“It was Turner, not Q, my bondmate” Bond growled.

“It was Turner and we don’t know if it was your bondmate or not.” Tanner said, then sighed heavily. “But . . .”

The three other people waited for the man to finish his thought. “But, this goes a long way to proving his innocence. I will speak to M tonight. We haven’t been able to recall the agents yet. Knowing that maybe we don’t have to will save at least some of the missions, and help calm the waters.”

“And?” Bond continued to press.

“And I will let you know. Both of you. If Danny is found innocent and is able to return to Q Branch, then you will be reinstated and return to active duty.”

The release of tension was palpable in the room. Eve rushed forward and kissed Q’s cheek. The young omega smiled and reached over and grabbed Bond’s hand. Bond felt the sudden touch of the young man’s thin fingers slipping in-between his. It sent a shiver through the alpha’s body that Bond barely checked before the others saw it.

“Thank you, Bill.” Q gushed. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet. You think I’m being a hard arse, just wait until we show this to M.”

Eve laughed. “Don’t worry about him. He’ll take you back or I’ll never fix his coffee the way he likes it again.” She tapped the side of her nose.

“Is he anything like his coffee like I am about my tea?” Q asked.

“Worse.” Eve said.

“Impossible,” Bond said without realizing it.

He felt Q squeeze his fingers again and he glanced at the man’s smiling face. It seemed like a long time since he had seen Q look unafraid. A spike a raw emotion flooded the alpha again. Gently, he returned the squeeze. He regretted letting go.

Tanner and Eve left after agreeing they would go and see Mallory that very night. Bond closed the door after them and turned to see Q hesitantly looking around the living room.

“What’s wrong?” James asked.

“Nothing.” Q said to quickly to be true.

James wonder how things were going to change in their relationship, if they were going to change.

“You’ll be happy to get back to Q Branch, won’t you?” He said as he decided he couldn’t be in the same room with Q any more. It was too difficult to see the young man and not to touch him. James practically fled to the kitchen.

“I’m sure you’ll be happy to get back out in the field.” Q raised his voice slightly to be heard from the other room.

“Yes, it’s been tedious stuck in London.”

“Tedious?”

Bond could hear the hurt in Q’s voice. James bowed his head and slammed his fist down on the counter.

“Q, that’s not what I meant . . .” Bond shouted thinking Q was still in the living room. He turned to see Q was standing in the doorway, watching him.

“So, you weren’t bored?”

James stared at the young man’s face, waiting to see if there would be any hope of saving this conversation.

“I’m never bored with you, Q. Frustrated, bewildered, baffled and amused, but never bored.”

James watched as the corners of Q’s mouth twitched slightly. The young man fought against it, but a smile tried to force its way out. James could see it in his eyes.

“Are you hungry?” the alpha asked his omega.

“No not really.”

“Dr. Farris said you need to keep your strength up. Eating was on the prescription for that.” James let his sardonic expression out.

“To be perfectly honest, I’m . . . exhausted. I feel like I’ve been running full tilt for so long and now that Tanner has the proof I’m not a spy I just want to sleep.” Q said, he quickly glanced away from James.

“Of course.” James didn’t want to be separated from Q just yet, but it was obvious how tired the young man was. “I’ll see you in the morning. Oh, let me clean up that broken glass in your room first. I don’t want you wandering around in the night and cut your foot.”

Q cleared his throat. “I was hoping . . . maybe you would . . . be . . . I mean, it’s okay if you’re not. I mean, really, why would you. Sorry I asked, of course you wouldn’t want to . . .” Q quickly retreated from the room.

James sighed and rushed after him. He grabbed Q’s shoulder and gently turned him.

“I wouldn’t want what, Q?”

James watched as a slight pinkness came to Q’s pale cheeks. “Sleep with me?”

“I’m sorry?”

“I was wanting . . . hoping . . . we could sleep together . . . I mean, sleep in the same bed. Not together, together.” Q seemed to be completely embarrassed. Fortunately, Bond had been trained to understand prattling.

“You would like us to just sleep in the same bed together tonight?”

Q looked up with both relief and fear in his eyes. “Yes? Your scent . . . it calms me.”

“Yes.” James said.

He carefully took Q’s hand and walked him down the hall to Bond’s bedroom. He led Q to the bed and helped the young man to sit down. Then James knelt by the bed and removed Q’s shoes and his socks. Then carefully removed Q’s glasses and set them on the bedside table.

“Is there anything in your pockets you don’t want to sleep on?” James glanced up into Q’s expectant face. His voice soft and warm. The young man shook his head no. James smiled quietly and slipped his forearm under Q’s knees and lifted him. He gently twisted Q to the side and eased his legs down onto the mattress.

Then, as Q watched him, James went to the bedroom door and closed it. He turned off the lights and went to his side of the bed. Q listened to the sound of James’ shoes heavily hitting the floor as the alpha kicked them off. Then James laid down beside him.

The two men laid side by side in the dark, both staring blankly up at the ceiling. Not touching and refusing to be the first to reach out for the other. James’ bed had never felt so empty before while two people laid in it.

“Do you want anything . . . need anything?” James asked the darkness.

“No, just . . .” Q shifted and rolled closer to James. He grunted a little as he jostled his injured ribs.

Q grabbed Bond’s wrist and lifted it. Pulling the man’s arm over his shoulders, then Q laid his head down on James’ shoulder.

“This doesn’t mean anything.” Q said quickly. “I just . . . after everything that’s happened in that last few days with the kidnapping and Sokolov, then finding the chip I just need a little . . . comfort.”

James forced himself to ignore the stab to his chest. He slipped his arm around Q’s body and lightly hugged him.

“I understand.”

“Just for tonight,” Q continued.

“Alright.”


	12. Strange What Desires

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Q and Bond tried to figure out where to go from here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry about the delay. Been under the weather and over worked. I'll try to be more diligent about getting chapters up.

_‘It’s strange what desire will make foolish people do.’_

Q woke up feeling warm and safe. It seemed like it had been forever since he felt this good. It was wonderful. He relished the sensation and forced himself to keep his eyes closed. He burrowed his head deeper into the yielding pillow and the indulgent cotton sheets felt like soft clouds surrounding him. A warm pleasant scent filled his lungs. It seemed both exceptional and familiar at the same time. Like a combination of exotic spices and gun oil. It took him far too long to notice he wasn’t alone in the bed.

When Danny and Alex spooned together, which was rare because Alex didn’t like physical contact when he slept, it was Danny who was the large spoon. It was unusual for an omega to be one, but between Danny and Alex it was just the way it was. Probably because Danny was more experienced than Alex. Danny had been Alex’s only lover. Maybe it was because Danny was more tactile than the alpha. What ever the reason, Danny was the one who was always hugging. Always comforting.

But now, as he laid in James’ bed, he felt the strong alpha behind him. Near and comforting while not being overwhelming. James’ right hand was lightly resting on Q’s hip and his head was tucked near the nape of Q’s neck. Q could feel James’ warm breath against his skin.

For a moment, Q thought he should be upset; he should be fleeing the man’s bed. But it felt too good to leave and Q was tired of fighting. He just wanted a moment of peace. Q sighed and leaned back into the broad muscular chest.

A thought flashed through Q’s mind. _‘Wouldn’t this be so much nicer if we were naked?’_ Sudden embarrassment over came the young omega. ‘ _How I wish we were both naked instead of still dressed? What am I thinking?’_ He hoped Bond’s eyes were closed and didn’t see the blush on his face.

“Q?”

 _‘Just my luck’_ the young omega thought. He hummed keeping his eyes closed.

“Q? We should think about getting up. Farris insisted I feed you.”

“Why don’t you call me Danny?” It was a strange non-sequitur comment but Q thought it odd that Bond never called him by his name.

Q noticed a tenseness come to the body behind him. Bond’s hand jerked slightly on the young man’s thigh. He thought Bond wasn’t going to answer him. That this brief unprotected moment had been lost.

“I don’t know Danny Holt. I know Q, my Quartermaster and my . . .” Bond returned his hand to Q’s leg and pressed more firmly into Q’s flesh.

For a moment, fear slipped through Q’s body. Maybe he should flee – run and hide, but Q knew Bond wouldn’t hurt him. He forced himself to relax and remain next to Bond. He reached up and took Bond’s wrist and pulled his hand to Q’s chest. James’ palm rested softly against Q’s sternum. Q set his own hand on the back of Bond’s and interlaced their fingers.

“Danny’s not very different from Q. He’s kinder. He makes friends easier. But he’s less confident, less driven. Less sure of himself.”

“I like Q’s cockiness. I found it one of his most endearing characteristic.” James’ breath tickled the skin of Q’s neck. “That and his sexy hair that just begs to be played with.”

Q could hear the smile in James’ voice. “My hair is not sexy.”

“I think it is.”

Q felt James pulled him closer to his chest. His lips brushing against the skin of Q’s neck. The heat from James’ palm on Q’s chest and warmth of the body behind him enveloped Q, making him feel wanted and finally safe. Q felt his body flush with need. It felt wonderful wrapped in James’ arms.

“Is that the reason you wanted to bond with me?”

“I told you before, I wanted to save your life. I believed you were worth saving.”

James’ nose nudge at a soft curl of Q’s hair. His lips lightly touched the warm skin. James felt the shiver that ran though Q’s body. Q twisted his chin up and away, exposing more of his long neck to the alpha. A surge of pride and want carried itself though James.

‘ _Consequences be damned!’_ James thought to himself. He opened his mouth and kissed the bond mark of Q’s neck. His tongue smoothing over the secondary erogenous site on the omega’s body. He felt Q’s trembling shudder in his arms as he arched his back. A small needy moan slipped from Q’s lips.

“James . . .”

Bond started kissing along Q’s jaw and up to the corner of his mouth. Q twisted his head back and allowed James to kiss his mouth. James’ tongue swept once over Q’s lips and the young man opened his mouth. James tasted wonderful. Exotic spice and warmth. Q could feel his body react to the alpha pheromones. He purred and twisted to pull himself under Bond’s body. Sparks of moments from Q’s last heat flooded into his mind. The sight of James’ crystal blue eyes staring wantonly at Q. The feel of Bond’s naked body. The man’s muscular chest. The smooth skin occasionally marred with a scar or previous injury. The sound of Q begging.

Then the image of Alex Turner flashed across Q’s mind. Alex staring at Q with a sad distant expression on his face. The look Alex had when he was disappointed.

Q gasped and twisted away from Bond. Throwing his legs over the side of the bed. The movement causing the injured ribs to sting and bite at Q’s side. He wheezed and wrapped his arms around his chest. Squeezing his eyes shut trying to push the tears away.

“Q!” Bond pushed himself away and out of the bed.

Q felt warm palms slide up his thighs. He opened his eye to see James kneeling in front of him. A heartfelt look of concern on the alpha’s face.

“What is it? Did I hurt you?”

“No,” Q gasped. He closed his eyes and tried to hold his tears at bay. “I just . . . my ribs.” It wasn’t a complete lie.

“I’m sorry. I was just overwhelmed by you.”

Q gave a weak laugh that made his ribs hurt more. “You? Overwhelmed? I don’t think anyone would believe you could be overwhelmed by me.”

“Let’s get you something to eat then you can take the pain killers.”

Q wanted to cry more. _‘Pain killers? Like there was anything in the world that would take the pain of losing Alex away from him’._ Q wrapped his arms tighter around his thin frame as he tried to cover up a whine with aborted laughter.

He felt Bond’s hands gently lift him at his elbows. Strong arms wrapped around his waist and guided him out of the bedroom. When they reached the kitchen, Q stopped and gently pushed Bond back.

“Don’t . . . I’m fine, you don’t need to . . .” Q didn’t know what he was going to say. _‘Carry me? hold me? Want me?’_

“Q, you’re shaking.” James said as he tried to step closer again.

Q shoved his hand against Bond’s chest, pushing the alpha back further. Q didn’t think he was strong enough to budge Bond if the alpha intended on remaining close. But Bond took several steps back, away from Q.

“I said I was fine.” Q could hear the bitterness to his own voice. He glanced at James. The man’s expression was neutral but Q could see the rejection in Bond’s eyes.

“I won’t argue with you, but you are an idiot if you think you are okay.”

James turned away and walked over to the counter. He started the coffee maker then filled the electric kettle. Q stood in the door way as he watched Bond mechanically started to prepare breakfast. The mood from earlier in bed completely forgotten. With the coffee brewing and the tea made, Bond cracked three eggs into a bowl and was whisking them with a fork as if they had personally attacked him. The toast had popped up from the toaster and the smell of cooking bacon carried over the scent of angry alpha.

Q hesitantly stepped over to the toaster and removed the bread. He started to lightly butter it with his back turned to Bond.

“I’m sorry.” He said. Bond didn’t respond. “This has been difficult for me.” Q heard a sizzling sound as Bond poured the eggs in to a hot frying pan. “I know it’s been difficult on you too.” Still no words from the alpha. “I’m not in love with you.”

“I never expected you to be.” Bond said quietly.

The words hurt Q more than he wanted to acknowledge.

“It was just the pheromones. I mean, you smell so wonderful and it felt so good to just be . . .” A tear slipped from the corner of Q’s eye.

“Eggs are done.”

Q covertly glanced over to see Bond spoon the scrambled eggs onto two different plates. Bond turned towards the table and Q quickly turned away from him. Q heard the plates thud on the table rather hard, but not the sound of breaking china. Bond didn’t sit down. He went to the coffee pot and poured himself a cup. Q went and sat down at the table. The smell of the food was unappetizing. He reached for his tea and took a long drink hoping to settle his stomach.

Bond sat down and stared at his plate.

“I’m sorry.” Q offered again.

“You already said that. I don’t need an apology.” Bond pushed his plate away.

“We need to learn how to live together.” Q said.

Bond looked up at the young omega. Q tried to return the look but found Bond’s eyes too intense to hold his stare.

“I had thought we had reached that point. We’ve proved your innocence and hopefully you can return to ‘six’ again. Isn’t that what you wanted?”

“Yes, but . . .” Q didn’t know how to continue. “You saved my life, Bond. Not once but twice. But I don’t know if I can be your . . . mate.”

“But you are.”

“I know . . . biologically, I am, but I mean, emotionally. I know we are friends, at least I hope we are friends.”

Bond sat back in his chair as his eyes fixed on Q’s worried expression. “I don’t have many friends but . . . I always considered you to be one of them. Someone I could depend on, and trust.”

Q knew how rare it was for a Double ‘O’ to trust anyone and to be that person was important. He gave the agent a weak smile and nodded his head.

“Thank you. And you were someone I could trust to be there for me if I really needed you. And you were . . . there I mean.” Q blushed slightly as another memory of his heat with Bond flashed before him. He took a sip of tea to cover his embarrassment. “Can we try to stay friends? I mean friends who live together?”

“But we are more, Q.”

“Yes, but ‘friends’ is a good place to start.”

“Yes, it is.” Bond simply said. He pulled his plate back in front of him. “Now eat your breakfast.”

Q smiled just a little bit more. “Are you always such a bully?”

“Yes.” Bond said as the corner of his mouth curled up.

~Q~

Nine days after Q had turned the memory chip over to Tanner he returned to MI6 as the Quartermaster. There was cheer from his minions as he entered Q Branch. Anna smiled and rushed forward and kissed his cheek as she hugged him.

“Proprieties, R.” Q blushed.

“Oh, shut up, Danny.” Then she hugged him again.

Q couldn’t help himself but hugged the woman back. He glanced over her shoulder to see 006 standing there. James had circled around Q and R and went to stand next to his best friend. The big Russian had a broad smile on his face. He nudged James’ arm as the two stood together. Something was up.

Q stepped away from R’s embrace and glanced suspiciously at the two agents.

“I want a run down on what has been happening here since I’ve been away.” Q said.

“Absolutely, but don’t you want to check out your office first?”

“My office?” Q glanced at the closed door. The glass windows around Q’s office were opaque with the privacy setting on. A sense of foreboding came to the young man.

Q was certain that security had gone through it thoroughly. All of his belongings had been seized and Tanner informed him that most had been destroyed when they were being examined. He had feared how it would feel seeing the empty room when he returned, but it seemed that James and R were intent on him seeing it now.

As Q walked to his office door, he noticed the minions were watching him. Alec Trevelyan and Bond followed him with R. He opened the door to his office then stopped. He supposed it would be empty. Maybe his MI6 issued furniture would still be there, but that was all. But he didn’t recognize anything in the room.

His old government issued metal desk had been replaced by a wooden one that was twice as large. The computer on the desk, had two monitors connected to it. Where the lumpy futon, that he used for naps had been, now a stylish but small couch sat. An end table in the same style as his desk was beside the sofa with a reading lamp. His rickety drafting table had been replaced with a newer model with a cushioned stool for him to sit on. All of his models and drawings were gone. The bookshelves around his office were empty.

“Counter espionage took everything that was in here. Your computer, and furniture. All of your papers and books. They at least photographed all of your drawings before they x-rayed them and treated them with chemicals checking for hidden messages and codes. Everything was ruined. And they dismantled all of your prototypes. Sorry.” R explained to the young man where all of his belongings had gone. Q glanced around confused by the new furniture. “Bond got Tanner to replace the carpet before he and 006 got to work. Bond contacted TJ and told him to build whatever type of computer you would want. Then he and Alec got all of your furniture and set it up in here.”

Q turned and looked at Bond. The blonde alpha remained stoic as Q slowly walked around the room. His fingertips slid over the smooth wooden surface of his desk. There was an expensive looking pen laying on top of the leather blotter. Q picked it up and examined it.

“A fountain pen?” He raised an eyebrow at Bond.

“I like old fashion things . . . sometimes.”

Q smiled. “I’m not making it into a bomb.”

“I should hope not. It’s a Montblanc.” Bond allowed the corner of his mouth to curl.

Q carefully set the pen down. He sincerely doubted he would ever use it knowing it cost over nine hundred pounds. He glanced at the small sofa. It was deep and comfortable looking but he couldn’t see how in the world he was supposed to lay down on it.

“It folds out to make an oversize single.” Bond said reading the young man’s mind.

Q glanced over at him. “A single?”

“You weren’t planning on napping with someone else were you?” Alec teased.

Q’s gaze slipped quickly over to Bond and saw the flash of anger in the man’s eyes. For a moment Q wondered if Bond was actually jealous. For some reason, Q felt the need to console the alpha. He pushed the feeling down and went to the drafting table. It was made of yellow pine and was highly polished. The wood felt smooth like satin with a designated tray for his pencils and stencils. Several pads of engineering paper were stacked on the nearby shelf, ready for him to use.

All the office was missing was the photograph of Q and Alex.

Q turned and smiled. “Thank you, R.”

“It was Bond and Alec, boss. They planned everything for you.”

Q nodded his head. “Thank you, 006 . . . James.”

The atmosphere in the room was slightly awkward. R glanced between the two bonded men. She reached over and took Alec’s arm. “Com’on, let’s give them some room.” She whispered.

Alec and R left without saying another word. Bond remained standing near the closed door as Q walked around again looking at all the new furniture and the brand new computer.

“When did you get this done?” Q asked.

“Alec and I started the day after we gave the memory chip to Tanner.”

Q stood right in front of James. “That was only nine days ago. You got all this done in nine days?”

“Getting the new carpet was the hardest part.”

“You did all this while I sat at home and did nothing?”

“You were healing. And it was more intimidation than actual work to get it done.” Bond said watching Q closely.

“Thank you. I’m glad you did it. I don’t think I could have come back here after Counter espionage had torn everything up.” Q spun around the room with his arms extended. It really was a relief to him.

“Is that how you really feel?” Bond asked.

Q noticed there was an unusual tremor to Bond’s voice. He turned to look at the alpha.

“Yes, I sure I would have embarrassed myself, crying in front of my department if you hadn’t done this.”

“No, do you feel my flat is your home?”

Q didn’t realize he had call it that, but when he thought about it, Bond’s flat was his home now. The one he had with Alex was gone. Everything they had together was taken away. Either by MI6 or by Alex, himself. Q stepped into Bond’s personal space and stared into the crystal blue eyes of the alpha.

“Yes, I do.”

Q watched as Bond hesitated then reached up and carefully wrapped his hand around the nape of Q’s neck. Gently, yet firmly, James pulled Q closer. Then he leaned up and placed a dry kiss to Q’s temple. Whether intentional or not, he allowed his nose to drag softly down Q’s face. Q felt the slight intake of air as James scented him.

“You’re welcome, Danny.”


	13. Someone Like You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James and Danny get talked to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the wonderful comments and support.

_‘I never dreamed that I’d love somebody like you’_

 

“Does he know?”

Bond was jostled out of his daydreaming by Alec Trevelyan’s question. He turned and looked at his friend trying to remember the threads of their conversation. Trying to determine who Alec was talking about.

“Who?”

“Q.” Alec continued cryptically.

“Does Q know what? Did he know that Turner was spying? No, he didn’t.” Bond wanted to believe his bondmate was innocent although the memory chip didn’t actually prove it.

“No, does he know that you’ve always had a thing for him?”

Bond’s brow furrowed as he stared at his friend. “Who says I have a thing for Q?”

“You did. Remember the helicopter ride back from blowing up the servers in Ukraine?” Alec smiled.

Bond let his expression remain indifferent as he remembered teasing about taking Q’s clothes off. A wave of anger slipped through him. He wondered how many other agents had fantasized about his mate.

“Alec, you’re imagining things.” Bond said and he turned away from his friend. In the back of his mind, Bond wondered if it was too early to go to Q Branch and retrieve Danny, to take him home.

“Tell me James, if you had shot anyone else’ bondmate, would you have jumped to their rescue by bonding with them?”

“It wasn’t anyone else . . . it was Q. You know how important he is.”

“Yes, I do.” Alec said. “I also know how important he is to you. Are you going to tell him?”

“Tell him what?” Bond didn’t like how this conversation was going.

“Are you going to tell him you have feelings for him?” Alec pressed.

Bond glanced away from his friend. Alec knew immediately it was a diversion ploy. He watched the micro-expression on his friend’s face more closely.

“I don’t . . .” Bond sighed and turned back to his friend. He knew he couldn’t lie successfully to Alec. “It wouldn’t matter if he knew or not. Q won’t every forget that I shot his first alpha.”

“But maybe he will forgive you. Maybe the two of you could make this actually work.” Alec said trying to sound reassuring to James.

“I don’t believe it would,” said James regretfully.

~Q~

Q was slowly sipping his tea as he looked down at the drawing on the drafting table. It was the schematics for a new drone that could not only drop supplies but also retrieve packages from a landing zone while remaining nearly silent. He picked up his pencil gingerly and darkened the line indicating an electrical cable. It was difficult to hold the pencil correctly with his two broken fingers still taped.

He sighed. He would never tell Bond, but he loved his new office. It was just how he always wanted one. His desk was finally big enough for all his paperwork as well as his computer. His desk chair was ergonomically correct to fit his body and not aggravate his broken ribs. The mattress in the fold-away sofa was surprisingly comfortable and he had to be careful he didn’t nap too long on it. Slowly his shelves were being repopulated with books and models of prototypes. The images of security ripping everything from his office and destroying all of his work was fading away.

The knock on the door pulled Q back from his daydreaming.

“R, yes, what is it?” Q ask as he spun on the drafting stool.

“009 has returned from Bali and 002 will be leaving tonight for Canada. I have the reports from R&D on the expenditure to refit that car that Alec tried to destroy in Paris last week and Dr. Farris wants a word with you before you leave.”

Although Q was not technically back as the Quartermaster; he had only partial clearance and limited access to department, he quickly fell back into the job of running the department. He wanted to frown at the extra work but he really couldn’t. It felt good to be back and to be busy.

“I noticed you called 006 by his first name and not by his code name.” Q commented slyly.

R smiled at the man. “Are you asking me a question, Q?”

“Just wondering. You know how Eve likes to be kept up on office gossip.”

R’s laugh was musical and soft. “Oh, Q, you are weeks behind the gossip. Alec and I have been seeing each other since he returned from Kiev.”

Q blinked his eyes and thought back to the last mission Bond and Trevelyan were on together. That was the mission when Bond was injured in the blast. _‘Maybe I shouldn’t have made that bomb so strong?’_ Q thought to himself.

R saw the pout on Q’s face and misinterpreted where the young man’s mind went.

“Yes, before your bonding.”

Confused for a moment, Q quickly ran over the events surrounding Bond and Trevelyan’s return, then the appearance of Sokolov and Alex’s death. Q looked at the woman and saw his own sadness reflected in her eyes.

“I wasn’t . . .”

“Q, it’s alright. We don’t blame you for what Alex did. You didn’t know. You couldn’t.”

Q stood up and turned away from the woman. As he sat down at his desk, his hand reached automatically for his computer. A simple stroke across the touchpad and the screen cued up. He glanced at the graph of projectile velocity while not actually reading the data.

“Thank you, Anna. It’s good to know you had my back through this.” Q said without looking at the woman. “When will 009 be in?”

“In an hour.” R hesitated by the door. She glanced over her shoulder then came further into the office, sitting down on the sofa. “Q, you need to forgive yourself about this.”

The young man looked up at the woman. His face was emotionless but R could see the confusion in his eyes.

“You aren’t to blame for what Alex did. And neither is James. Forgive him and yourself.” She continued.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“He honestly cares about you. He bonded with you to save your life. Maybe not like Turner did, but James cares. He wants the best for you.”

“Anna, I’m not comfortable talking about my . . . situation with 007. We are . . . friends who just happen to be bonded. I don’t believe it needs any other discussion.”

R stood and looked down at the younger man. “Forgive me for saying this, Danny, but you are an idiot. When you need someone’s shoulder to cry on after he decides it is better to live without you than with you, I’ll be here.”

“ANNA, I’m not trying to drive him away!” Q said, almost pleading. His gaze flicked to the open door to see if any of the minions were watching him. When he knew his outburst hadn’t been heard by anyone but his second, he continued. “I just can’t stop thinking about Alex.”

“Alex put you in this position. He was the traitor, not only to MI6 but also to you. How can you keep wanting him and ignore the man who is there for you now?”

“I’m not ignoring Bond.” Q said, dropping his gaze to his mug of tea.

“Q, you seem to be only deluding yourself.”

R turned and left the room; leaving Q alone with his cooling tea.

~Q~

Q was still sitting at his desk, lost in thought, when there was a knock on his door. He glanced up to see TJ standing in the open door.

“Gov, 009 has returned from Bali.”

“Oh, yes. Did any of his tech return with him?” Q set the Montblanc pen down carefully. A small smile snuck across his lips as he glanced at the elegant pen.

TJ just shrugged his narrow shoulders as he said. “Like any of the Double ‘O’s care we spent weeks working on developing the toys they destroy so quickly.”

“It would set a precedent if at least one camera or computer was returned unscathed.” Q said as he walked back out into the bullpen.

Gordon Morris was leaning against Margo’s work station. He appeared to be in a very animated conversation with the young woman. Margo had been one of the new technicians that Q had insisted on when he was hired. She was intelligent and creative. One of the best hackers he had ever come across other than himself and Alex. It had been a hard sell to Tanner to hire her, though. She had arrived in her black Demonia Gothika boots and white sweater with a smiling black skull for her interview. Q had stopped Tanner from calling security but only just.

Margo looked at her boss with an exasperated look on her face. Q quickly crossed the room and over to the pair.

“009, good to see you returned unharmed. Did any of my tech survive the mission or did you give it your usual disregard?” Q’s voice was firm and he could see Margo sigh in relief that her boss was there.

“What are you doing here?” Morris asked instead of answering Q’s question.

Q felt a rush of anger sweep through him. “I am the Quartermaster for MI6. Where else would I be?”

“You’re a traitor.” Morris barked back. The alpha instantly becoming defensive as he stared at Q.

Margo and TJ stepped back and decided there was somewhere else they needed to be. Q took a moment to rein in his anger in before he spoke.

“I have never compromised the security of England. I have never worked against her interests.”

“Noticed you didn’t deny being a traitor.” Morris filled the air with dominant alpha pheromones.

“It may be beyond your understanding of the English language but I just did.” Q forced himself to remain on his feet and not submit to the alpha. “Now, back to your tech . . . what did you return with.”

“I won’t work with a fucking traitor!” Morris shouted.

Every head in the department turned to look at the two men. Q could feel the stares. His staff wondering what he would do to put the ranting Double ‘O’ in his place.

“There aren’t any traitors in this department, but there is an egotistical arrogant alpha.” Q said as he held his ground even though sweat was beginning to break out over his brow. “Now either calm down and return your equipment properly or leave and explain your behavior to the Chief of Staff who okayed my presence here.”

“Nothing but a bunch of fucking cock-sucking omegas here anyway! And you are the biggest bitch!” Morris shouted as he shoved Q back. Q stumbled and reached out to grab the edge of the table. His injured ribs throbbed. The pain seared through him.

Morris smiled when he saw the pain register across Q’s face. He turned and took two steps and right into Bond’s fist. Morris flew backwards and sprawled out across the floor. A collected gasp went up from the minions. There also some _‘hell, yeah’_ and _‘perfect’._ Q would have smiled if he hadn’t been surprise by 007 arrival.

“I suggest you address the Quartermaster with more respect.” Bond said as he straightened his cuffs.

“BOND!” Morris said from where he was on the floor. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?! Tanner is going . . .”

“Tanner will be reprimanding you after he watches the video recording of what happened in this room for the last five minutes.” Q said as he regained himself.

Morris was ready to attack but when he realized what Q had said, he glanced around the room and saw the various cameras located in the corners. He sagged a little then slowly stood up. He tried to make himself appear nonthreatening. Bond’s attention was still focused on Morris and he didn’t see Q wrap his arm around his body.

“Don’t expect me to apologize. The bitch is a traitor. We all know it. You’d admit it too if you weren’t fucking the punk.” Morris continued.

Bond growled. Morris paled slightly. His anger quickly being replace by panic. He may be younger than Bond, but he wasn’t as experienced at hand to hand as 007. Morris stepped around Bond and walked out of the department as slowly as he could so it didn’t appear he was running away.

Bond finally turned and looked at Q. The young man gasped as he leaned over the table.

“Q!?” James stepped forward. He hesitated before he carefully wrapped his arms around Q’s shoulders.

“I think I should go see Dr. Farris.” Q whispered.

“That’s why I’m here. She requested to speak to both of us?”

“She did?” Q glanced up at his bondmate.

“Yes. Do you need me carry you?” James asked.

“If you do, I’ll erase your existence from every database I can find.” Q said between gritted teeth.

“So that’s a no.”

“Yes, let me have some dignity.” Q tried to stand up straight. He gasped again and James’ embraced tightened.

“To hell with your dignity.” He quickly dipped down and picked Q up bridle style.

“James . . . please!” Q whispered urgently.

James stared into Q’s pleading eyes. The two stood perfectly still for a heartbeat then another. Slowly, James let Q slip from his arms and back onto his feet. They kept staring at each other as Bond removed his handkerchief and gently mopped the sweat off Q’s forehead.

“Are you ready?”

“Yes.” Q said softly.

~Q~

Dr. Farris tutted and frowned as she examined Q. The young man felt uncomfortable being shirtless in front of Bond, but the alpha refused to leave the room when Q was being examined. He stood quietly beside the bed as Farris rechecked the x-rays and then lightly ran her hand over the fading bruises on Q’s body.

“Nothing appears to have been shifted but you do need to be more careful, Quartermaster.” Dr. Farris said as she stepped back. “You seem to be healing just fine but it will take longer if you reinjure yourself.”

“I assure you, it wasn’t my idea. I was just standing there when 009 pushed me.” Q hated the fact he sounded like he was whining.

Dr. Farris frowned. “Are you going to file a complaint? If you do, I’ll need to document everything.”

No, that won’t be necessary.” Q ducked his head. He noticed Bond shift himself and move closer to the omega.

“Alright, you can get dressed then.” Dr. Farris said as she slid Q’s x-rays back into their paper sleeve. The x-rays were digital but Farris preferred to hold hard copies in her hands instead of looking at them on the computer screen. “Now, the reason I asked both of you here.”

Q glanced quickly at James, but the man was just staring ahead. Apparently, he knew why they were there and hadn’t discussed it with Q.

“I’ve been doing research into your problem.” Dr. Farris continued.

“Our problem?” Q seemed confused.

“Your bonding.”

“Oh.” Q took another quick glance at Bond. He saw the alpha flex his jaw while keeping his lips tightly sealed. “I wasn’t aware of a problem.”

Dr. Farris turned and looked confused at Q. “I thought you two didn’t want to be bonded.”

“Well, yes. There is that but we can’t do anything about that can we?”

“It turns out there is something that can be done to reduce the physical draw of a bonding.” She said. Q remained silent as James shifted closer. “There is drug protocol that won’t break the bond but will reduce the effects of it. James won’t be so aggressive about being near you, Quartermaster. And you won’t feel the need to be so obedient to him. It can make it possible that the two of you can live separate lives.”

Bond made a scoffing noise deep in this throat. Both Farris and Q heard it but only the woman glanced at him.

“What are the side effects?” Q asked not knowing the drug even existed.

“It’s been used for several years now in the Prison Services. It is given to bonded pairs when one has to be incarcerated.”

Q suddenly realized why Dr. Farris knew about the drug. They would have to have taken it if Q had been arrested for espionage and imprisoned.

“Side effects?” Bond finally spoke.

“Some individuals find themselves more easily aggravated and increased mood swings. Weight loss for the omegas, but other than that the drug seems very benign.”

“Q can’t afford to lose more weight.” Bond said coolly.

“Well, we can get him on a regulated diet to help with the side effect. It is an option I was told to bring to you.” Dr. Farris gave a half-hearted smile.

“Who told you to bring it to us?” Q asked.

“Ah, M and Tanner.” She said. Q nodded his head.

“I feel the Quartermaster and I need to discuss this alone if you don’t mind.” Bond said remarkably calmly.

Dr. Farris cleared her throat and looked concerned. “I was told not to leave you alone with the Quartermaster.”

“I assure you, Farris, I won’t order Q to refuse the treatment. I will make this his decision not mine.” Bond said.

A sharp pain stabbed inside Q’s chest. _‘Does Bond want to leave me? Does he want to take the drug?’_ Q asked himself. He lowered his head more and wanted to pull himself into a ball.

The doctor looked back and forth between the two of them. She knew her orders but believed this was a conversation for the two of them.

“Alright, but if I think you have unfairly influenced Danny I’ll report it to Tanner and demand the treatment start today.” Farris stared unwaveringly at Bond. The man nodded in agreement.

She left the two of them alone in the examination room. Neither spoke. The air was heavy with recrimination. Bond stepped away from Q and turned to lean against the closed door.

“Is this what you want?” Bond asked.

“Is it what you want?” Q replied.

“This has never been about me, Q. Everything that happened . . . everything I did was to keep you safe.”

Q finally looked up at Bond. Q stared at the intense blue eyes and studied the man’s face. Bond was as lifeless as he could be. Q imagined this how Bond would look if he was standing before a firing squad with no hope of escape.

“I never asked you to do it.”

“I didn’t force you.” Bond said quietly.

Q covered his eyes with his palms. He didn’t want the flashes of his heat to come back to him right now.

“I’m not saying you did. I just . . . so much has happened since that day. Since Alex died.”

“Since I killed him.” Bond corrected Q.

Q opened his eyes and looked firmly at the agent. “You did what you had to do then too.” Bond didn’t answer him. “You always do what you think is best. And most times you are correct.”

Q took a deep breath to steady himself but regretted it immediately as his side burned. The room was silent. Q blinked back his tears as Bond kept staring at him. The omega couldn’t hold the alpha’s intense gaze. He turned away.

“I don’t want you to leave.” Q said.

“I don’t want to leave. But if we can’t make this work . . .”

“It’s been my fault . . .”

“No, we’ve both been arses.” Bond said as he pushed himself off the wall and took a step closer to Q. Deep inside himself a voice started shouting but James didn’t want to listen to it.

“No, it’s been mostly me. You’ve been . . . decent through this. You’ve been . . . good to me. I can’t say I have feelings for you but I know I don’t want you to leave. I don’t want to go home to an empty flat or have dinner alone.”

“I’m a field agent. I will be out on missions, again.”

Q glanced up at the man. For a moment he thought he saw hope in Bond’s expression.

“Are you wanting to take the drugs to make it easier for you to be away from me?” Q asked hoping the answer wouldn’t break his heart.

“I want . . . I want us to be able to do our jobs. I want to stop feeling like I’m going to lose you. That some other alpha will take you away from me.”

Bond stepped close enough to be within reach of Q. The younger huffed out an aborted laugh.

“I doubt you need to worry about that. I mean, half of MI6 still thinks I’m a traitor. And the other half thinks I’m an idiot for not knowing what Alex was doing. He was even poisoning me and I didn’t see it. I believed he really wanted to have pups with me . . . more fool me for loving him.”

James reached up and cupped Q’s cheek in his palm. Lifting his face so James could look into Q’s eyes. “I know you’re not a traitor and I would never call you an idiot except that you don’t see how unique and special you are.”

Q leaned into James’ hand. He blinked back his tears. James smiled softly at the young man and leaned forward to give Q a chaste kiss. Afterwards, James lightly traced Q’s lips with his thumb. His eyes following the path of it over the deep red lips.

“No, you are not a fool, Danny. You are passionate and caring. When you give your heart, you give all of it. There is nothing wrong with being that way. Why would I ever want to get rid of you?”

For several seconds, the two men simply stared at each other. The silence seemed reassuring for some reason. It cocooned them from worrying about saying the wrong thing to each other. They let their eyes and expression relay their feelings at that moment.

The knock on the examination room door was jarring. Dr. Farris didn’t wait to be called in. She opened the door but quickly closed it behind herself when she entered the room.

“M need to speak to both of you.” She said as she held Q’s file in front of her. The knuckles turning white as she struggled to remain neutral. “Have you made a decision?”

Q blinked his eyes again and finally looked away from Bond. “No . . . we haven’t. I need more time to decide.”

Q was surprised that Farris didn’t argue with him. She simply nodded her head and looked down at the file.

“Q, you weren’t on any contraceptives while you bonded with Turner, but the alkaloid prevented any pregnancies. Now that you are bonded to 007 you may want to start taking them. We can readdress the other medication at a later date.”

“Contraceptives? I guess . . . yes, I should.”

Q glanced back at James and saw the stoic expression of the man again. The one Q learned that James used when he didn’t want to acknowledge his feelings.

“Very good. I’ll make sure you have a bottle before you leave today. You need to start them as soon as possible.”

James glanced at the woman. Dr. Farris stared daggers at Bond. Obviously she thought Bond had influenced the Quartermaster into not taking the drug. He would check the medication she gave his bondmate closely.

But first he needed to know what M wanted.


	14. Break Your Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Q has a decision to make about his relationship with Bond.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize about the delay in getting this chapter out. Had an accident with a horse and now a slight concussion. Please notice there is an update on the tags. Thank you for the support and wonderful comments.

_“This world is only going to break your heart.’_

“It must be important.” Q said as Bond steered him down the hall to the lifts. Tanner contacted Q as they left Medical that Q and Bond were both needed in M’s office.

The two men quickly went up the executive level and were ushered into M’s office by Moneypenny. The woman gave a quizzical glance but Q refused to acknowledge her silent questions.

“Good, Bond, Q, we have a lead on Sokolov’s organization.”

Q’s stomach twisted. The man’s name sent fear charging though Q’s body. But Bond’s attention intensified. Like a greyhound pulling at his lead.

“Where?” Bond asked

“Prague.” Tanner said.

“Was Sokolov there? He could be anywhere by now.” Q said as he sat down in one of the wing-back chairs opposite M’s large desk.

“Our source says he has a meeting with a Russian national tomorrow.” Tanner explained.

The expression on Bond’s face sharpened.

“When do I go?” He asked.

Q glanced up at him. He knew the sooner Bond was able to stop Sokolov the safer everyone, especially himself, would be. But he had hoped the two of them could talk away from MI6. There were things they needed to discuss.

“We need you on the plane tonight.” M said, then he turned to Q. “Quartermaster, we need Bond kitted out as soon as possible.”

“Mission length?” Q wished he had brought his tablet. He grabbed a blank sheet of paper he saw on the desk and folded it as a notepad. He pulled out the Montblanc pen and unscrewed the cap. Poised to write, he glanced sideways and saw James staring at the pen. A slight curve came the alpha’s lips.

“One week, probably less knowing 007. Basic kit but with also something to take out the servers if Sokolov has already established a hacker’s space.” Tanner said.

“Something with a little longer fuse than last time, please.” Bond joked.

Q felt a slight flush. “If you had listened to me, you would have known to be out of the building when it exploded.”

Q glanced up to see a smile on Bond’s face. _‘He does enjoy blowing things up.’_ Q thought to himself.  

“We are developing a small version of an independently generated EMP device. The effects are limited because of size. We are not completely sure how far the impulse with travel but if it is detonated in the room with the servers, it will fry their electronics rendering them completely inert. It’s a prototype but now may be a good time for a field test.” Q said to M and Tanner.

He glanced up at James. The smile had been replaced by a look that Q could only say was a cross between avarice and pride. James was proud of him. Proud of his omega. Alex had never looked at Q like that.

“Very good, make it so.” M said.

“Not as good as an exploding pen, but I’ll make it work.” Bond said with certain amount of smugness to his voice.

“Also, Quartermaster, you will not be handling 007 for this mission. Have R chose a new handler for the agent.” M said without looking up from his desk.

“Why not me? Is there a problem?”

M looked up at the younger man. His eyes cold and angry. “Yes, there is. Your clearance hasn’t been completely reactivated. Your involvement with Sokolov and Turner raises serious questions about your loyalties. Also, your priorities are in question with the two of you being bonded.”

“You must be joking.” Q scoffed.

“I never joke about the safety of my agents and the question of a spy in our ranks.” M snapped.

“After Q’s abduction there should be no question about his loyalty.” Bond growled.

“The abduction proved nothing other than Sokolov was willing to do whatever was necessary to get information out of the Quartermaster, but it doesn’t prove Q wasn’t working with his bondmate against MI6.”

“I refuse to believe Q would ever work against England. He is more loyal than anyone else I know.” Bond scowled.

“You are not thinking with your brain but another appendage, 007.” M said coldly. “Dismissed.”

Q blushed slightly at the comment as he stood up and turned towards the door. Bond followed directly behind him.

“By the way, Quartermaster . . .” M’s comment made both Bond and Q pause as they were leaving. “I’ve been informed by Dr. Farris that she has found a solution for the problem of your unexpected bonding to 007.”

Q felt his stomach twist again. He glanced at Bond but the agent’s face was unreadable.

“Yes, sir. She told us of a drug regimen that would reduce some of the emotional effects.”

“If you don’t mind me asking . . .” M continued.

“Yes, sir, we do mind.” Bond said quickly. At the same time Q said. “I haven’t decided yet.”

Tanner and M looked at each other for the briefest of moments then M said. “Keep us informed.”

~Q~

Q tried not to think why his hands were shaking as he watched Margo kit Bond out for his mission. The longer Margo took to explain the different pieces of equipment, the more often Bond would glance over at Q. Repeatedly, Q had to stop himself from walking over and taking over the briefing.

The private jet was fueled and waiting at London City Airport for Bond to leave before midnight. Q fought the nausea away as he thought about going with Bond to the airport. But before they were supposed to leave Bond pulled Q into his office, instead. He pulled Q over to the young man’s desk and pressed the button that caused the windows to smoke over and become opaque.

“I need to say goodbye to you here.” Bond said as he turned back to face Q. Q felt Bond’s anxiety pouring off the man. Q wondered if Bond was apprehensive about the mission or about leaving him.

“I thought I would go to the airport.”

“I can’t say what I need to say there. Not with everyone watching us.”

Q slowly nodded his head. He wasn’t sure what James need to say to him that couldn’t be heard by other people. But he was relieved to know no one would see his reactions to James’ words.

“Alright. I’m listening.” Q said hesitantly.

James reached into pocket and pulled out a secured MI6 mobile phone. “This is for you. It is not being monitored by TSS. We can text each other while I’m gone.”

Q knew it was safe to use, but he wasn’t certain why they needed the added secrecy of secured phones. James caught the look of confusion on Q’s face.

“I don’t want M or Tanner reading our messages.”

“They’re never going to trust me again, are they?” Q said. He ducked his face down, demoralized.

James’ fingers gently lifted Q’s chin. His crystal blue eyes stared at Q.

“Q, it doesn’t matter what they think. I trust you.”

“James, I’m no good to you like this. With my hands tied.” Q stared into James’ eyes. The alpha’s fingertips gently stroking along the omega’s jaw line. Q was afraid to consider why James’ touch seemed to calm him so easily.

“We’ll make it work.

Q was glad they were alone. He couldn’t have this conversation in a noisy airport lounge. He was glad no one was there to see him or the fear and doubt he had. He wished James wasn’t seeing it either, but he knew he could trust Bond.

Suddenly, he felt compelled. Q’s warm lips pressed firmly into James’. Q simply wanted to forget about everything else. Six and Alex, Sokolov and the mission. All he wanted was to focus on James and taste of the alpha’s kiss.

“I’m sorry but I needed to do that.” Q said as he leaned back.

James grabbed Q’s arms and pulled the man close again. This time James kissed Q. It was slightly more demanding and possessive. There was a smear of tongues and bite of teeth. Q eagerly returned the kiss. Slipping his arms up and around James’ body. Holding the man closer.

“You better be careful.” Q’s voice was shaky as the kiss ended. He blinked back tears that threatened to fall. “This better not be some kind of heroic goodbye on your part. I’ll fucking hunt you down and drag your arse back to London if you don’t make it back on your own.”

James’ smile was in his eyes even though his lips remained neutral. His thumb lightly dragged the tear from Q’s cheek.

“I’ll be back.” James said and then he released Q and walked out of Q’s office.

Q stood in his doorway as he watched James walked up to Tanner. Then two men nodded and turned to leave. He watched as the door closed to the department and James disappeared once again.

~Q~

Q hadn’t realized how quiet James’ flat was until he was there alone. He wandered from his bedroom to the kitchen, to the living room and back. He thought about watching television but knew he couldn’t sit still enough to get through a program. He went into the kitchen and tried to make himself some tea, but his hands were shaking so badly, he spilled tea leaves across the counter.

It was two in the morning. James would be landing soon in Prague. Q wondered what Bond would do first. Would he check into his hotel or start tracking down Sokolov? What would Sokolov do when he saw James again? Take off running or shoot him?

Q suddenly had an image of James laying on the ground like Alex after he was shot. Q grabbed the edge of the counter as his stomach rolled and twisted. He knew he was going to be sick. He leaned over the kitchen sink and coughed up what little there was in his stomach.

He had skipped dinner and his lunch the day before was only half a sandwich and some tea. For a moment he felt guilty. James would be angry at him for not eating more. Q rinsed out his mouth and went to sit down at the kitchen table. The table that James had bought so they could eat together as a couple. A miserable feeling flooded Q.

Anna was right. James actually seemed to care about him and Q hadn’t recognize it. James did save Q’s life more than once. James had protected Q while Alex who was supposed to protect him was poisoning him. Q felt another wave of nausea. He went to the sink and threw up again.

Closing his eyes, he slid down the front of the cabinets and sat on the floor. He didn’t know what was wrong with him. He felt exhausted as he closed his eyes. His arms and legs felt weak as his stomach twisted inside himself. He rarely ever got sick like this. It couldn’t be because Bond was out on mission. Q couldn’t remember eating anything that would make his stomach upset.

_‘It’s almost like I’m pregnant.’_ Q thought to himself.

Q’s eyes flew open. _‘I can’t be! Farris said I wasn’t!’_

Q wondered if he could possibly be pregnant. Bond would of course be the father, but then maybe it could be Alex Turner. _‘No impossible!’_ Q thought.

Q struggled to his feet and wondered if it was too late to get a pregnancy test at the express store. He was pulling his coat back on and looking for his keys when the mobile James had given him chimed. The sound surprised the Quartermaster and Q cursed.

“FUCK! Who could that . . .” He pulled the phone from the pocket of the coat and looked down at the message.

‘Arrived at Hotel Paris five minutes ago.’ O2:27 15/6/18

James was checking in with him. Q’s fingers trembled as he tried to type in a reply.

‘At the flat’ 02:28 15/6/18

‘You should be asleep. Go to bed’ 02:29 15/6/18

Q glanced at the locked door to the flat. He was just going to go to the Tesco around the corner. He glanced back at the mobile’s screen.

‘On my way’ 02:31 15/6/18

‘Good night. I’ll text tomorrow before I go to meet contact’ 02:33 15/6/18

‘Good night’ 02:34 15/6/18 Q texted back.

He looked up one more time at the door and then slowly removed his jacket. The nausea was gone. He felt better having received the text messages from Bond.

He kept the mobile close to himself as he got ready for bed. He brushed his teeth and put on his pajamas. As he laid the in the darkness of his bedroom, he stared up at the ceiling waiting for sleep to overtake him. The mobile sat quietly on the bedside table. After half an hour, Q got out of bed and went to James’ bedroom. He slipped under the covers and buried his face in the pillows that contained James’ scent. Again, he didn’t want to ponder why he felt better just being in James’ bed. He really didn’t want to think about it. He didn’t want to think at all.

~Q~

“You’re not pregnant, Quartermaster.”

Q looked goggle-eyed at Dr. Farris. The woman was standing in front of him as he sat on the examination table again.

“Are you sure?” He asked.

“Yes. We did blood tests before I prescribed the contraceptives.” Dr. Farris said.

For a moment, Q was hit with an overwhelming sadness that he wasn’t pregnant. He had dreamed during the night of blonde, blue-eyed pups that would be as adventurous as they were smart. He dreamed of holding his child in his arms and feeling an arm wrap protectively and warmly around his shoulders. Then another wave of nausea hit him.

“Then what is wrong with me? Why am I throwing up? Is it the poison?” Q was willing to believe he had eaten something the following day that had caused the nausea he suffered when he got home the previous night; but when he woke up and had to rush to the loo, he changed his mind.

“The poison was at a very low dose. It has cleared your system by now. This is actually perfectly normal.”

“NORMAL!?” Q shouted.

“It’s separation anxiety. Bond being gone is causing your body to react this way.”

Q stared at the woman for a few moments. “But I never reacted this way with Alex. I didn’t start vomiting everything up when he went off somewhere without me.”

“Well, no, but you had a normal relationship with your first bondmate. Your relationship with Bond, by your own description, is not normal. Not physically and emotionally reassuring. That is the reason I recommended the therapy to reduce the effects of the bonding.”

Q threw his glance to his hands. _‘If he was physically ill because of their separation, how was Bond reacting to it? Was the mission in jeopardy?’_

“I need to get to Q Branch. Is there something you can give me for the nausea?” Q asked as he slipped off the examination table.

“The best thing would be the therapy, but I can give you Phenergan. But you need to eat something. Start with clear liquids and no caffeine.”

Q scowled at the idea of skipping caffeine. That was the only thing keeping him going at the moment.

Dr. Farris continued. “Start with some clear broth and a sports drink.”

“Sounds delicious.” Q groaned.

“It’s either that, or I call M, and have you admitted into Medical on IV feedings and monitored intake of food.” Dr. Farris warned.

“James is on a mission. I need to make sure he is alright.” Q said as he stepped towards the door. Dr. Farris stepped sideways and placed herself between the young man and the exit.

“Listen to me, Danny. I’m only thinking of your well-being. If you’re not going to start having a normal physical relationship with your alpha you will need to start the drug regimen. It is the only way to regulate these emotions.”

Q wanted to say he needed James and himself to agree to it, but he knew that was not an option. Bond wasn’t there and he needed to make the decision now. It seemed so simple, but it was not. He closed his eyes and forced the anxiety and nausea down. Q focused on the fact that he was the Quartermaster of MI6. He was strong. He didn’t need his alpha to make decisions for him. He didn’t need anyone to tell him what he had to do. Not Bond, or M or even his own body.

“No, thank you, Dr. Farris. I will accept the Phenergan but not the other medication. I promise to send one of the minions to fetch me some soup from the canteen.”

Dr. Farris frowned. Q could see the disappointment in her eyes. “I recommend you reconsider.”

“I won’t. Not at this time.” Q said.

“Then consider bonding counseling.”

Q raised an eyebrow. “I sincerely doubt that is an option. I can’t imagine James willing attending an appointment.”

Dr. Farris gave a weak laugh. “I can agree with you there.”

~Q~

‘The guest of honor didn’t show up. A waste of time.’ 1540 18/6/18

Q was sitting in his office when the text message came through. He glanced at the text from Bond and agreed with him. Sokolov had not been at the meeting with the Russian national. It was another member of Sokolov’s organization. Bond had spent the day following the man after he left the meeting only to be led to a restaurant, a bar and then a strip club with underage omegas working as hostess.

Q hated that he panicked when he learned Bond was going to a strip club with omega prostitutes. He had to tell himself it was for a mission and his alpha wasn’t cheating on him. He wondered if Dr. Farris’ advice would help his anxiety. _‘If you’re not going to start having a normal physical relationship with your alpha you will need to start the drug regimen’._ He wondered which would be better, the drugs for the rest of his life or James Bond.

Flashes of memory instantly came to him. The sight of James, bare chested, as the man climbed into bed with Q. The sensation of James’ lips and hands on Q’s body. Q felt a flush of want hit him hard as he remembered bits and pieces of their bonding heat. He pressed his hand on his growing erection and wondered how much trouble he would get into for having a ‘wank’ in his office.

The separation anxiety had lessened slightly for Q with each text but more than anything he wanted to see Bond again. Sleeping in the man’s bed helped and Q had even taken to wearing one of James’ shirts while he slept. He was going to make sure he took it to the cleaners before Bond saw it.

Q believed Bond wasn’t as affected by the separation as he had been. But Bond’s handler had complained about Bond’s abruptness and rudeness. The alpha seemed overly impatient with the waiting around for Sokolov to appear. Tanner had to intercede when Bond got arrested by local law enforcement for punching a taxi driver in the mouth. Q though Bond was just ready to finally capture Sokolov or simply kill him.

Q looked down at his message again.

‘You’ve identified more members of his organization. That’s a plus.’ 15:42 18/6/18

‘Something you could have done sitting in London in your pajamas.’ 15:43 18/6/18

Q smiled. James was probably over estimating Q’s abilities but it felt nice to be praised.

‘Maybe he is just waiting to see if it’s a trap.’ 15:45 18/6/18

‘I think he was warned off. Someone told him I was coming. Have you eaten today’ 15:46 18/6/18

Q smiled again.

‘Sandwich with Anna and Alec’ 15:47 18/6/18

‘Alec said you ate an orange and ignored the sandwiches brought to you.’ 15:49 18/6/18

_‘Damn the man’_ Q thought. Of course, Alec Trevelyan would rat him out to Bond.

‘I’ll eat something at teatime.’ 15:50 18/6/18

‘Eat something now or I’ll tell Farris and she will order you back into medical or send you home.’ 15:51 18/6/18

‘Just bring yourself home.’ 15:51 18/6/18 Q typed before he realized what he had said. Frightened how James would take the frankly obvious romantic phasing, Q worried.

He waited for James’ response. And waited.

‘I promise.’ 15:57 18/6/18

Q swallowed the lump in his throat. He pressed the button for the privacy windows and decided HR be damned. He was having a ‘wank’.

~Q~

It was late Saturday night or early Sunday morning. Danny couldn’t be sure. He was cocooned in James’ bed. The warm duvet pulled up to his nose. His head burrowed into the pillows. He was dreaming of being happy. He wasn’t sure why he was happy he just was in his dream. He felt like dancing or just simply jumping up and down because he was so happy. It had been so long since he had felt this good. It seemed like forever since he could smile like an idiot.

In Danny’s dream someone was with him. That person was making him happy. He knew that person was responsible for it. He glanced around but he couldn’t see the person but he still knew he was there. He had to be.

The soft stroking of fingers through his hair slowly woke Danny up.

“Alex?” Danny groaned as he shifted under the duvet.

The fingers paused in their movement for a moment, then slowly pulled back.

“No.” James’ voice was soft. Almost a whisper.

Q blinked and twisted in the bed. He rolled over to see James laying behind him on top of the duvet. The agent was still wearing his street clothes and smelled of travel.

“James? Margo said you weren’t coming home until Tuesday. When did you get back?” Q made sure the blanket was pulled up almost to his chin. He wasn’t sure how Bond would react with discovering Q wearing one of the man’s expensive bespoke shirts as pajamas.

“Tanner recalled me. He finally agreed that it was a waste of time.” James said as he sat up but didn’t get off the bed.

“Oh,” Q glanced around wondering how he could sneak out of the room without James seeing him.

“You’re sleeping in my bed.” James said matter of fact.

“Yes . . .”

“Is there a reason? Is something wrong with your bed?”

Q blinked rapidly then shook his head no. His wild curls shaking against the white pillowcase.

“I just seemed to sleep better in here. Your bed is . . . more comfortable.”

“Oh? Well, if you want we could . . . switch mattresses.”

“No, that would be . . . no. I’m sorry.” Q said twisting to get out of the bed.

“Don’t” James laid his hand on Q’s shoulder and pushed the young man back down. “Please . . . don’t leave. I would like you to stay. Please.”

Q slowly laid back down on the bed but kept his eyes fixed on James. The alpha just stared at Q for several seconds.

“I missed you.” James said as he turned away. He moved to stand up.

“I missed you, too.” Q said.

James paused and turned to look at Q again. A sad resigned smile appeared on the alpha’s face. Q watched James for just a few moments.

“The bed is large enough for both of us to sleep in it.” Q said as he scooted over to the far edge.

“Would you?” James asked.

“Stay and sleep here?” Q hesitated. “Yes, for tonight.”

Even in the very dim light coming from the street, Q could see the shift in James’ eyes.

“Just sleep. Nothing else.” Q quickly added.

James smile didn’t broadened but seemed more content. “I’m so fucking tired, I’ll probably fall asleep under the shower. I’ve been traveling since noon yesterday.”

“What time is it?” Q looked over at the clock on the bedside table but couldn’t read the numbers without his glasses.

“It’s three in the morning. I’ll take a quick shower and change. I can’t even stand myself. I’m sure your repulsed.”

“No . . . I mean, yeah, a shower would help.” Q glanced around the room trying to find something to focus on other than his bondmate’s blue eyes.

James waited for just a moment more, before he stood and walked to his bathroom. He closed the door before he turned on the lights. As soon as he heard the shower start, Q leaped out of the bed. He rushed to his bedroom and grabbed a pair of pajamas. He quickly took off James’ shirt and hid it on the floor of his wardrobe. Then as he made his way back to James’ bed, he stumbled and hopped, as he put on his own clothes.

Q was under the covers when James stepped out of his bathroom and over to the bed. The alpha lifted the duvet and slipped into the bed. Q was relieved to see the man wearing pajama bottoms but James was also bare chested. Q could feel his mouth begin to water. He glanced away and stared up at the dark ceiling.

The two men lay on their backs, not touching but also not moving farther away from each other. After what seemed like hours but was only a few minutes, Q asked.

“Why did you want me to sleep in here?”

“I told you, I missed you.”

“And . . .” Q waited silently.

James sighed. “And, I just have an overwhelming need to be near you right now. I can’t explain it.”

“Alright.” Q carefully reached over and touched the back of James’ hand with his. He could feel the alpha twitch then shift his arm so he could wrap his hand around Q’s.

“Why were you really sleeping in here?”

“I told you because of the mattress.”

“Q, I bought both mattresses at the same time. They are identical.”

“Oh . . .” Q should have known he couldn’t lie to the man. “I found I slept better in here . . . because of your scent.”

“You slept better being able to smell me?”

“Yes.”

James hummed softly. Then squeezed Q’s hand. “I was having difficulty on my mission. I was constantly afraid someone would sneak in here and steal you away. I pushed Tanner to cut the mission short.”

Q listened and realized he had hoped the mission would be cut short too. Dr. Farris’ words came back to him again. _If you’re not going start having a normal physical relationship with your alpha you will need to start the drug regimen. It is the only way to regulate these emotions._

“It’s just hormones.” Q whispered into the darkness.

“Knowing what is causing it doesn’t lessen the affect.”

“The drug regime would.”

James rolled up on to his side and stared intently down at Q. “Is that what you want?”

“I . . . I don’t know. But it sounds like it’s what you need.” Q said afraid to move under James’ gaze.

“I need . . . I need to know what you want, Q.”

Q wanted to pull himself into a little ball and hide from this conversation. His base emotions were telling him to submit and kiss James while his higher emotions were telling him that this was the man who took Alex away from him.

“I want . . . I’ve wanted . . .” He pulled his hand away from James and twisted to look away. He pulled his knees to his chest and closed his eyes. Wrapping his arms around his bent knees, Q tried to become as small as he could. “Alex and I want to start a family.”

James didn’t move.

“I wanted to have a family. I didn’t really have a good one when I was growing up. My parents kicked me out when I was fifteen. I was stupid and did stupid things. Then I made a friend. His name was Scottie. He was older and kind. An omega like me. He helped me. Got me cleaned up and into school. Helped me get scholarships and grants. He told me I was the son he never got to have.”

James wanted to reach out and wrap his arms protectively around the young man but knew Q needed the space right now.

“I remember when I introduced Alex to him. Scottie didn’t like Alex at first. He didn’t trust him. We didn’t bond until after Scottie died. I was so depressed and missed him so much and Alex was there. He was good to me. He loved me. He promised to never hurt me.”

James gave in to his need. He slipped closer to Q and gently laid his arm protectively over Q’s body.

“We were going to start a family. We decided it was time. We talked about it. I wanted pups and he said yes.” A soft cry slipped from Q’s shaking body. “I don’t know why he lied to me. I don’t know why he was poisoning me.”

James though if Turner wasn’t already dead, he would shoot him again right now.

“He may have been frightened. Sokolov might have been threatening you.” James whispered.

“Why didn’t he tell me? Why did he lie to me?”

“I don’t know Q, but I promise, I never will.”

Q leaned back into James’ body. The alpha slipped his hand between Q’s folded legs and his chest. He pulled Q closer to him. The young man relaxed his own arms and straightened his legs out allowing James to spoon him.

“I’m afraid if I start the drug regime I won’t be able to have pups.” Q whispered so softly, James almost didn’t hear it.

“Is that what you really want? To be a papa . . . to have your own pups?” Something warm was blooming in James’ chest. He was too afraid to address it.

“I want . . . I can’t say. I know it’s silly but . . . I had such shits for parents, I want to be better. I want the family I had with Scottie.”

James leaned forward and lightly brushed his lips against the bond mark on Q’s neck.

“You deserve getting everything you want, Danny. Everything.”

Q swallowed the lump in his throat. His own hand reached up and interlaced his fingers with James’ hand that was protectively rested on Q’s chest.

_‘James said my name . . . my real name.’_ Q’s mind whispered to him. He closed his eyes and wished for sleep so he didn’t have to think any more about it.


	15. I Never Dreamed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tanner apologizes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, Q wasn't pregnant, but there is some good things that happen in this chapter. The next few chapters will be rather long to finish out this story. Thank you for all the wonderful support.

_‘And I never dreamed that I’d lose somebody like you.’_

The next night Danny went to his own bed to sleep. Around two in the morning he felt the bed dip behind him as James crawled in next to him. For a moment Danny thought about demanding the man to leave or to at least ask what James thought he was doing. But after the silence dragged out between the two of them, Danny rolled into James’ side and carefully wrapped his arm around the alpha’s body. Danny felt as James released his held breath. James sighed and moved his left arm to drape it over Danny’s shoulders.

The next night, James took Danny by the hand and led him into James’ bedroom. To sleep. Only to sleep. It was as if they had reached a truce in their battle.

The following week, Q was called into Tanner’s office.

“What does he want?” Q asked Bond as the alpha followed his mate to the executive floor.

“He didn’t tell me. Do you want me to join you?” James asked. Q could tell the alpha was pensive.

“No, I’ll be fine.” Q said as they stepped off the lift.

“I should be there for you.”

“It will be alright, James. I’m sure if they were going to arrest me then Tanner wouldn’t have requested my presences. He would have just sent his goons after me.”

Q noticed as the agent stiffened. As if James was turning into a coiled spring ready to explode and attack. Q lightly patted James’ arm and turned to smile at the alpha in hopes to calm the man down.

“I want to take you out to dinner tonight. To my favorite Italian restaurant.” Q said with a reassuring smile.

Bond didn’t say anything. He stared at the omega searching the young man’s face. Q took a quick glance around him to see if anyone was watching them, then he suddenly gave a quick peck the corner of James’ mouth.

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.” Q whispered.

James made a sound at the back of his throat somewhere between a growl and whine. Which he would deny making. He nodded and stepped back. Giving Q room to walk on to Tanner’s office unaccompanied.

Q rapped on Tanner’s door as he felt a wave of anxiety crash over him. Not knowing exactly what to expect from the Chief of Staff, Q tried to not fear that there were armed guards behind the door waiting to take him into custody.

“Come in.” Tanner’s voice was audible but calm sounding.

Q opened the door and stepped in. He glanced around Bill Tanner’s cluttered office. Unlike M elegant wood paneled office, Tanner’s office was all work. Two large world maps were mounted on the walls. Multiple pin holes in the maps showed how previous Chiefs of Staff tracked locations of agents and missions. A bank of at least a half dozen locked filing cabinets lined the opposite wall. The cabinets were old and had been heavily used over the years. The two chairs that were for visitors to Tanner’s officer were hard plastic and not the soft inviting leather wingback chairs that M had. This was an office were work was done, not where impressions were made.

Tanner glanced up and saw Q standing in the doorway. He smiled at the young man. “Oh, good, Danny. Thank you for coming up.”

Tanner waved his hand at one of the hard plastic chairs. Q closed the door and sat down.

“I thought Bond would be joining us today.” Tanner said as he finished reviewing something on his computer screen.

“He is waiting out in the hall. Do you want me to get him?” Q was wondering if Tanner was relieved or not that James wasn’t there.

“No, no, it’s not that important that he be here. I have received the final evaluation regarding Alex Turner and his release of intel to Sokolov. Counter espionage have concluded that you were not involved in any way. There is no evidence that you were aware of what Turner was doing or that you were involved in the leak. I just . . .” Bill Tanner looked up at Q then sighed. Tanner’s lips thinned as he composed himself. “We lost four agents after Silva released their names on the internet. Faas Said, who was embedded with Isis, was a good friend of mine. We started here together. I watched him murdered. I had promised myself I would never let that happen again. Turner was my greatest fear realized. One of our own betraying us. I just wanted to tell you that I’m sorry for the stand I had to take against you for the last few month.”

Q hadn’t known that Tanner was close friends with one of the agents killed because of Silva’s sick game with the previous M.

“But what happens now?” Q asked.

“You have been reinstated with full access as the Quartermaster. You record will show that you cooperated fully with the investigation and that there is no reason to doubt your loyalty.”

Q nodded his head. “And what about 007? What about what he did?”

Tanner seemed confused for moment, then leaned back in his chair.

“He was told to not shoot Sokolov. To bring the man in alive. As for shooting Turner, he was limited in his options when Turner picked up the gun and started shooting at him. He will not be reprimanded for protecting himself. As for what Bond did during your ‘Grieving Heat’, it was of his own volition. He wasn’t ordered to bond with you, but he did save your life. As to his mission after you recovered, well . . .”

“Mission?” Q asked.

Tanner seemed to pale slightly. “To get information out of you.”

Q felt sick. He realized what Tanner was implying. A honey pot mission and Q was the mark. “There was no information to extract.”

“No, there wasn’t. He aided in proving your innocence.” Tanner said flatly.

At first Q was angry. The idea that Bond was manipulating him. Using his emotions to get information while he was at his weakest. He wanted to punch, James. Hit him, kick him, caused him the pain he felt at that moment. Then Q thought. Bond explained what he was doing with the make out session on the couch. But once they got into the bedroom, Bond stopped. Bond really hadn’t try to seduce him. He never pushed Q. He really hadn’t tried to trick him. Bond had been honest to him the whole time. He had insisted on Q’s innocence and apparently helped convince Tanner and M, too.

“Thank you for your honestly.” Q said still feeling lightheaded. His could feel himself shaking. He wondered if it was fear or simple shock that Tanner was willing to use bondmates against each other.

Q stood up and turned to leave the office.

“Again Q, I’m sorry.” Tanner said.

Q looked at the man and could see Tanner was truly sorry. The job of spying had taken so much out of all of them. Q nodded in response and left. Closing the door softly behind him, Q turned to see James standing right in front of him.

“Well?” James seemed to be vibrating with anxiety.

“Completely innocent. All charges dropped and fully reinstated.”

James rushed forward and wrapped his arms around the young man. Picking Q up off the ground and spinning him around as Bond twisted.

“Hurray, finally!” Bond crowed.

Q broke out in a boyish laughter as he clung to James’ shoulders. James let the omega slip to the ground but kept his arms tightly wrapped around Q’s waist. The two men looked intently at each other. Their face open and smiling.

“Dinner? My favorite Italian restaurant?” Q asked.

“Anything you want.” James couldn’t take his eyes off Q’s smiling face. It wasn’t the same as in the photograph but it was close enough to melt the edges of James’ vision. “Anything at all.”

~Q~

Gabriella’s was busy when the two men walked through the door. Almost all the tables were occupied and Mama Rosa was busy rushing between them with plates of food. The old woman glanced up and saw Q. She plopped the two plates in her hands down heavily on the table. The customers were startled as marinara sauce splashed.

“DANNY!” Mama Rosa shouted as she wiped her hands on her apron. “Where have you been, darling!?”

The old woman rushed forward and clasped Q’s face between her warm hands. She pulled the younger man’s face down and kissed him.

“The baby!? Yes?” She asked. Her eyes bright with anticipation.

Q frowned softly and shook his head, “No Mama. No baby.”

Quickly the woman wrapped her fleshy arms around Q’s body and gave him a hug. She glanced sideways and noticed James standing just off to the side.

“You brought a friend? Where is Alistair?”

James saw Q blanch. The young man quickly blinked his eyes. James was actually glad the woman was still holding Q and his mate wouldn’t fall.

“I’m sorry . . . I haven’t been here in so long . . .” Q started to babble. James stepped forward and placed his hand at the small of Q’s back.

“There was an accident.” James said cryptically, but the woman quickly understood what James was trying to say. Instantly, her face clouded over and she pulled her hands away from Q’s face.

Mama Rosa’s eyes switched back and forth between the two men. From across the room, they heard a welcoming shout from Anthony, Mama Rosa’s husband.

“Danny, welcome! We have missed you and your bondmate.” Anthony stepped closer and saw his beloved wife crying. “What Mama? What is wrong?”

He pulled the plump woman into his arms.

“Alistair is gone.” Q said weakly. “He died several weeks ago.”

“No, Madre Maria piena di grazia. No.” Anthony said softly, then spoke louder. “When? How? Why didn’t you come to us?”

Q glanced at James for moment hoping the man would help him out.

“It was an accident. Three months ago. Danny was . . . injured too. He has only recently been released by his doctors.”

“Il mio bambino, are you all right?” Mama Rosa reached over and cupped Q’s face again.

Anthony looked suspiciously at Bond. He didn’t like how the alpha was standing so close to Danny or the fact that he was so familiar with the omega. He could tell there was something dangerous about Bond.

“Who are you?” Anthony asked.

“James Bond.” James held his hand out. Anthony looked doubtful at the offered hand. He waited until Mama Rosa elbowed him before he took it and shook it.

“Are you Danny’s friend?”

Q glanced around and noticed several of the customers were watching them. Mama Rosa’s hysterics had garnered attention.

“He’s my new bondmate.” Q said as quietly as he could.

“So soon?” Mama Rosa looked disconcerted.

“I was . . . yes. It had to be.” Q said quickly.

“Your ‘Grieving Heat’?” Anthony looked like he was willing to use one of his kitchen knives on James.

“Yes.” James said simply holding the hateful stare of the older man.

Q could see this ending badly. He leaned closer to James and whispered. “We should leave.”

“No, Danny.” Mama Rosa cried.

“You took advantage of a grieving omega after he had lost the love of his life?” Anthony growled at Bond.

“No, I helped my friend.” James said calmly. “He was very upset about losing Alex. He needed me.”

Mama Rosa gasped again and turned on her husband.

“Anthony, sta' zitto! Sei un idiota! Lasciare l'uomo solo!”  She turned back to Q. “No, Danny, stay, please. Anthony will be good. He will shut up.”

“No, Mama. It’s okay. We’ll leave.” Q said and he leaned over and hugged the woman.

“Yes, leave. We don’t want your kind here.” Anthony gritted his teeth as he talked to Bond.

Bond hesitated then smiled. He leaned over and kissed Mama Rosa on her cheek and smiled.

“Grazie, bella signora. Spero di rivederti presto.”

Anthony growled again but James smoothly guided Q out of the small restaurant and back onto the pavement outside.

“I’m sorry about that.” Q said as they walked down the road. At the corner they would be able to flag a taxi.

“It’s alright. They must have really like Alex a lot.”

“Actually, no they didn’t. I was the favorite. It’s just . . .”

“What? The baby?” James asked without looking at Q.

“Well, yes. Mama Rosa was hoping for us to have a baby. I had promised she could be the godmother.” Q said.

They paused at the corner. James waved his hand in the air and a taxi veered out of traffic and over to them.

“Are you still wanting to have pups?” James asked nonchalantly.

“Yes,” Q answered quickly.

James opened the door of the taxi and Q started to get in then realized what had just been said. He stood back up and turned to James.

“Oh, sorry . . . you’re really not interested in children are you? Not your style I guess.”

“I wouldn’t say that.”

Q stood staring at James. The alpha had a quizzical smile on his face. The two men stood there until the taxi driver honked his horn.

“Are you two going to get in?” the burly man asked.

“Danny, get in the cab.”

“Yes, James.”

~Q~

After their missed dinner at Gabriella, things shifted in Q and Bond’s relationship. There were more kisses and light touches.

One morning Q was woken by James kissing him awake. James’ hands roaming down Q’s body and palming near his groin only for the skittish young omega to make a dash to the bathroom. Alone.

Q leaned over the sink, breathing hard. His body had reacted to the alpha’s attentions. He was hard and wanting but Q’s mind still fought against him. Q tried to will his erection away by concentrating on Alex Turner, but it wasn’t working. He had told himself that he would never want another alpha except Alex, but every time he remember Alex, an image of James came to him. With every smile Alex shared with Danny, there was a smile that wrinkled James’ face and brightened his blue eyes. With every breathed word of passion between Danny and Alex, there was vivid memory of Q’s heat with James.

Q glanced up at his reflection in the mirror. His own skin denounced him. There were blossoming bruises on his neck from James’ attention. Q licked his lips and could taste the alpha’s kisses. He stared at himself and frowned.

“You’re a fraud,” Q said out loud. He waited for his reflection to deny the accusation, but it didn’t. “You care for him, and you know it. Why won’t you show him?”

His reflection didn’t answer him.

~Q~

Bond tried to act like it didn’t upset him. James greeted Q in the kitchen with a mug of hot tea and breakfast. His face neutral and his body language open and relaxed, but Q could tell James was hurt.

“I’m going to get fat if you keep forcing me to eat a full breakfast.” Q said as he sat down to the American style pancakes with lots of maple syrup.

“I sincerely doubt that. I’m just trying to get you to a healthy weight.” James said as he fixed himself another cup of coffee. His plate of food was untouched before him.

“Are you coming in today?” Q asked. Before their bonding, James rarely came into MI6 unless he was called in by Tanner. Since the kidnapping, James made it a point to check in at least once a day on Q in his department.

“I’ll go in with you. I don’t like you riding on the Tube.”

Q glanced up at the man. Since they moved in together, Q hadn’t been on the Underground once. For a brief moment he imagined what James Bond would look like in his bespoke suit pressed against other commuters on the train in the heat of summer. A small smile came to Q’s lips and he glanced away from the alpha. James caught the smile and raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

“What?”

“Nothing.” Q hid behind his mug of tea.

“Something funny?”

Q set his mug down and allowed himself to relax into a familiar dynamic with James.

“I’ll be fine on the Tube. No one is going to try and kidnap me in broad daylight.”

“That’s not what . . . it is an unnecessary risk for an executive of MI6 to take. I’ll drive you in.” James almost growled at the young man.

Q was surprised by James’ aggression. “Alright.” Q floundered for a moment wanting to ease the tension. “Will I see you at lunch?”

“Are you going to be eating lunch today?”

Feeling exasperated by the man, Q said. “There is nothing going on right now that would prevent it. Hopefully World War 3 won’t break out in the next six hours.”

“Then I’ll bring you lunch today. How would like Italian?” James allowed a superior smile to come to him.

Q gave him a doubtful look then nodded his head. “It would be my preference . . . if it’s good Italian.”

“I know the best restaurants in the city.” James’ smile grew.

Q wondered what the man could be up too.

~Q~

It was half past eleven when the report came through. Sokolov had been spotted in Amsterdam. Q was reading the message from Tanner when he glanced up and saw Bond walking into Q Branch. The agent was carrying a cardboard box that looked like it contained several takeaway containers.

As soon as their eyes met, James could read the anxiety and apprehension in Q’s expression. He set the food down on a table and walked quickly through the department.

“What’s wrong?”

“Sokolov, he’s been located. You are to leave in the morning to intercept him and close down his operations.” Q said firmly.

Just as he finished, James’ MI6 mobile chimed with a text message. He pulled it from his pocket and glanced down at it. After he quickly read the message he turned the phone where Q could read it.

_‘You are needed.’_

The text had come from Tanner.

Together, the two men went to the executive floor of MI6. Eve Moneypenny was busy at her desk when James and Q entered her office.

“They are waiting for you.” She said.

She pressed the button to unlock M’s security door, then she grabbed her steno pad and followed the two men into M’s office. M and Tanner were in an animated conversation.

“Are we positive?” M asked.

“TSS said the facial recognition was 97 percent certain on both Sokolov and Viktor Tarsa.” Tanner said not looking up from the report in his hand.

James and Q instantly recognized the name ‘Viktor Tarsa’. He was the head of an international crime syndicate that was involved in drug and weapons trafficking. The combination of Sokolov’s hackers and Tarsa’s violent criminals could be the most destructive organization the world had ever seen. If they were working with the sanction of a foreign government, it would be a declaration of war.

“Bond, Q, sit down.” M ordered as he looked at the bound pair. “We have an important mission for 007.”

The two men quickly took their seats as Eve stood near the locked door. Her steno pad and pen ready to take notes. Q was using his tablet. M continued.

“As you heard, Uri Sokolov was seen in the company of Viktor Tarsa this morning in Amsterdam. We have reason to believe that the two men are planning to combine their skills. To what end, we are not positive.”

Tanner handed over the file marked ‘Top Secret’ to Bond. James opened the folder and started to study the photographs inside. The photographs were taken through a glass window and the glare from the glass caused the picture to be slightly out of focus. The first photo was a black and white one of three men at the table in what appeared to be a café. Two of the men were Sokolov and Tarsa.

The next photographs were of Sokolov and Tarsa leaving the café separately. Each man pausing for a moment to look around before walking in opposite directions.

“Who is the third man?” Bond asked.

“We don’t know. Facial recognition places him as a member of Tarsa’s organization but we didn’t get a good image of him. Identification was only forty-five percent. He left out the back door of the café.” Tanner said. “Tarsa immediately returned to Moscow. We are sending 006 after him. Bond, you will go after Sokolov. Since he knows who you are, this is not a reconnaissance or infiltration mission. This is an assassination.”

James’ lips thinned as he nodded his head.

“Before you pull the trigger, though,” M interrupted. “Find out as much information as you can regarding who was funding Sokolov. We are positive that the members of his group will disappear into the woodwork as soon as he is dead but find out who hired him and who he worked for. His operation was too well thought out and organized to just be a group of anarchists wanting to cause trouble.”

“Yes sir.” James said calmly. “When do I leave?”

“In the morning. We have a field agent presently keeping an eye on Sokolov in Amsterdam but we know that Uri is more than able to elude passive surveillance.” Tanner said. “Q, can your department have Bond kitted out before he needs to leave in . . .” Tanner glanced down at his watch. “In eighteen hours?”

“If we can’t you should fire me.” Q said dispassionately. Q should have taken offence by the comment but given all that had happened in the last few months he realized their confidence in him had been shaken. He was going to need to rebuild it. “Expected duration of the mission?”

“A week.” Tanner said.

Bond made a growling noise deep in his throat, then coughed, trying to cover up the sound. Q glanced sideways at his mate as M and Tanner glared at the man.

“Is there a problem, 007?” M asked pointedly.

“No, sir.” Bond shifted in his chair as he handed the file back to Tanner. “Are you sure I’m the appropriate agent to send. As you said, Sokolov knows me by sight. Maybe someone less . . .”

“I’m surprised, Bond. I would have thought you would have demanded to go after the man who kidnapped your bondmate?” M stared at Bond.

Q felt a wave of apprehension sweep off of James. It had been several weeks since Bond had been on his last mission but Q felt an uneasiness too.

“Yes, I want the bastard caught and dealt with, but . . . I’m uncomfortable with leaving my bondmate for an extended mission.”

“It’s a week, Bond.” Tanner exclaimed.

James turned and looked at Q. Q wanted to reach out and take the man’s hand but he didn’t dare show any affection in front of M and Tanner.

“Are you refusing the mission, 007?” M’s voice darkened. His brows knitted over his angry eyes.

“No, sir.” Bond said firmly as he looked back at the head of MI6.

“Is there a problem between you and your bondmate that will prevent you from completing your mission?”

“No, sir.” Bond’s voiced seemed to have slipped into the automatic responses of a soldier who is answering his commanding officer without really listening to what was being asked.

M’s attention switched to Q. “Quartermaster, are you going to be able to maintain your professionalism with 007 during this mission or do I need to replace you?”

“Sir, I take offence at you asking me that question. Would you ask such a question of a beta or an alpha?” Q glared at the older alpha.

“Answer me or I will have R take over and you put on disciplinary leave.”

“Bond and I are bondmates but that will not interfere with me doing my utmost for my agents. All of my agents.” Q’s voice was measured and angry.

“Very well then. Your personal life is not more important than the safety of England. I was told by Dr. Farris that you have both refused the treatment to curtail the effects of your bonding. If you two are unable to function as members of MI6 then I will order you to take the drugs.” M growled. “Am I understood?”

Q’s eyes glared at the threat. He didn’t think M was within his rights to order them to take the drugs, but he realized so much of what he believed about MI6 had changed in the past few months.

“I will complete my mission in less than a week. As you already stated this is an assassination. My interrogation of Sokolov won’t be . . . subtle.” James said as he took the file back from Tanner. “Will you trust my judgement on this, M or should you use another agent?”

M sat across from the man for several seconds studying James’ face. The agent let nothing slip. He remained unreadable but had put the mission outcome directly in M’s lap. Either the man had to let James do what he wanted or replace James with another agent.

“Fine. As you deem necessary. If you want . . . send a message.”

The implication were clear. _‘Harm MI6’s Quartermaster and find yourself in small pieces scattered around the city.’_

James nodded his head and stood up. He remained at attention as Q stood.

“I want you on the ground in Amsterdam by six am tomorrow.” M said as a dismissal.

Q and James left. The door to M’s office closing behind them, leaving them alone in the outer office. James grabbed Q’s arm and twisted the man to look at him.

Suddenly, Q felt James’ arms wrap around his body and the man’s warm firm lips pressed to his own.

“I’m so fucking proud of you right now.” James whispered next to Q’s lips.

“Me? Why?” Q sputtered as James kissed him again.

“I’ve seen alphas cower before M.”

“You did a pretty good job too in there.” Q kissed James back.

“Together we could rule the world.”

“Let’s first stop this megalomaniac before we plan our own world domination.” Q smiled.

~Q~

As promised, Q Branch had kitted Bond out for his mission in only a few hours. James bought Q home to their flat with his gear and box he had brought with their lunch. The food was cold and had been left out for hours on the desk in Q Branch so Danny decided it would be best to dispose of it instead of risking the chance of getting sick.

James was sitting in the living room and was disassembling and cleaning his Walther. Q had told his alpha there was no reason for Bond to clean the gun. He wouldn’t allow Q Branch to issue a compromised weapon to an agent, but Bond insisted on it. He told Q it was therapeutic for him to methodically clean and check the weapon. To assure himself it was in perfect working order.

Q left the man alone while he went in to the kitchen to dispose of the food. He pulled the first container out of the box and noticed the Gabriella emblem on it. James had gotten the food from Q’s favorite restaurant even after the disastrous evening they had there. Q felt his heart squeeze as he realized what James had attempted to do. He could only imagine how James would have convinced Anthony and Mama Rosa. He wondered what James had said to prove to the older couple that he was good for Danny.

Danny looked down at the container. The waxy cardboard container smelled of garlic and fennel. Danny’s mouth watered and he wished they had at least gotten to eat some of it before Tanner had called them into the briefing.

Danny threw the food into the bin and washed his hands. He leaned against the doorframe for the kitchen as he watched James slide the barrel back into the frame of the gun. The action closed smoothly and James slipped the magazine back into the grip.

Danny watched James as the man carefully put away the bits and bobs of his cleaning kit. James’ eyes flicked up and the blonde smiled. Danny felt an overwhelming warmth and devotion to James suddenly. Remembering all of the moment and things that James had done for him and never asking anything in return. Even as James’ own heart seemed to be breaking every time Danny remembered Alex, the alpha had been supportive and protective. He had been caring and sensitive to Danny’s needs.

Danny knew he loved Alex. He knew he would always love the man. But Danny realized he was in love with James. And James would not purposefully hurt him or lie to him. Even when he had been ordered to do so by Tanner, James had risked everything and sided with Danny.

Danny tossed the tea towel in his hand onto the counter as he rushed from the kitchen and over to James. James had enough time to register what was happening when Danny jumped into his lap and wrapped his hands around the alpha’s face. Danny kissed James, hungrily. James’ hands slipped around Danny’s body. Holding the young omega close to him.

“Danny?” James whispered when the kiss broke.

“You asked me what I wanted.” Danny whispered against James’ lips. James didn’t say anything. He simple stared into Danny’s hazel eyes, hoping. “I want you to take me to bed.”

“And?”

“I want to be your mate, James.”

The blonde’s arms tightened around Danny’s body. He stood up and Danny’s legs wrapped around James’ hips. He carried the young man into the bedroom.

They had moved together. Undressing each other as they kissed and petted at exposed skin. James had reached over and grabbed a condom from his bedside table and slipped it on while Danny watched him.

Danny was laying on his back, his right leg was lifted up and supported on James’ left shoulder. James stared intently into Danny’s eyes as he rolled his spine and pushed himself into Danny’s body. Danny gasped and James stilled himself. Then Danny sighed.

“Yes, I’m okay . . . please, I’m ready.” Danny whispered.

James started to move slowly. His eyes never leaving Danny’s face. The intensity was almost overwhelming. Danny reached up and cupped James’ face. He pulled the man closer. They kissed and breathed shared air. James shifted and kissed along Danny’s neck as the omega wrapped his arms around the alpha’s broad shoulders.

“James . . . oh God, Please!” Danny pulled his other leg up and out, giving James more room.

The alpha grabbed Danny’s hip and lifted it slightly, changing the angle and the depth. Danny arched his back and moaned. His fingernails leaving imprints in the tanned skin of James’ back.

“My beautiful omega!” James growled into Danny’s hair. “My strong . . . beautiful . . .”

“Yours . . . yes . . .”

“Danny!” James bit down on Q’s neck again as he came. A heartbeat later, as Q felt the pulsing of James inside him, he came too. His body seizing and tightening down on to James. The alpha thrusting erratically as Danny’s body tried to milk more from him.

Even after James had slipped out of Danny’s body, the two men still held each other, reluctant to let go. Danny fell asleep listening to the beat of James’ heart. His head resting on the alpha’s chest.

James slipped from the bed a few hours later. It was just after two in the morning when Bond left the flat. His plane would be leaving around four in the morning. Q barely moved as James kissed him goodbye.

At half past seven in the morning, Q was woken by his phone ringing. He groaned as he reached for it.

“What?” he slurred as he struggled to pull the duvet away from his face.

“Q, this is Anna. James is missing.”

Q sat up and reached for his eyeglasses. “What do you mean he is missing?”

“He landed in Amsterdam but didn’t make his first check in. We have him on CCTV leaving the airport and getting into a taxi then nothing.”

“Anna, you wouldn’t be calling me if he just skipped checking in.” Q’s stomach was twisting.

“There was a report of a car accident involving a taxi leaving the airport. We can’t be certain but . . . we are checking.”

“Anna?”

“We can’t find him, Q. He’s gone.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Madre Maria piena di grazia Mother Mary full of grace  
> “Il mio bambino my baby boy  
> Anthony, sta' zitto! Sei un idiota! Lasciare l'uomo solo Anthony, shut up. You're an idiot. Leave the man alone.  
> “Grazie, bella signora. Spero di rivederti presto Thank you, lovely lady. I hope to see you again soon


	16. I Want

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bond is missing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I've added an extra chapter to the story. Hope you enjoy the turn of events.

_‘I want to fall in love.’_

“Q, this is Anna. James is missing.”

Q had been asleep. It was half past seven in the morning. James had left for Holland around two in the morning. Q woke up alone to the phone ringing. He sat up and reached for his eyeglasses. “What do you mean he is missing?”

“He landed in Amsterdam but didn’t make his first check in. We have him on CCTV leaving the airport and getting into a taxi but then, nothing.” Anna sounded overly anxious for just an agent being late to check in. Especially if that agent was Bond.

“Anna, you wouldn’t be calling me if he just skipped checking in.” Apprehension flood Q’s blood stream. He felt sick.

“There was a report of a car accident involving a taxi leaving the airport. We can’t be certain but . . . we are checking.”

“Anna?” Q’s mind wanted to start spinning out of control.

“We can’t find him, Q. He’s gone.”

He tossed the covers off his legs as he threw himself out of the bed. “I’m on my way in. Have a car meet me in front of my building in five minutes. I want every CCTV video of the airport, every road leading away from the airport, and the taxi stands. Verify that Bond actually landed and is not still stuck at Heathrow. Also contact 006 in Moscow. See if Bond has been in contact with him.”

“Yes, Q.” Anna said. Her professionalism quickly took over as Q barked orders to her.

Q grabbed his clothes and pulled them on as he spoke. “. . . check the equipment. Make sure we are receiving on the correct frequency. Contact the passive surveillance on Sokolov and make sure he is still in place.”

“I’ll have it done before you get in.”

He finished the call as he paused in front of the bathroom mirror. His hands gripped the edge of the counter as he leaned closer to his image. He took a moment to breathe as he stared at himself. Slowly he closed his eyes and concentrated on his bond with James. The small invisible thread that tugged against his heart and ribs. So much had changed in their relationship with just one night. They were a ‘real’ bonded pair now. It wasn’t just physical but also emotional. He knew James. He could feel James. He needed him.

With his eyes closed he reached out to feel the pull of the other man. The presence of James in him. He could still smell James’ scent of Q’s skin. His body felt the phantom touch of the alpha’s hands. James had to still be alive. He had to be.

Q splashed cold water on his face and stared at his reflection again.

“James, if you are taking the piss, I will make your life a living hell.”

~Q~

When Tanner came into Q Branch, Q was reviewing the video feed of James being picked up by the taxi for the twelfth time. He was standing at his station with the multiple images on the computer screen on the opposite wall. There was the CCTV of the taxi stand at Luchthaven Schiphol, numerous photographs of a burned taxi on the Nieuwe Haagsweg, and a looping video of Bond leaving the baggage claim area at the airport.

Q was pulling the image tighter on the driver of the taxi as James handed him his suitcase. He captured a full face image of the man and tapped his computer keys, cueing up the facial recognition software.

“Q, we need to talk.” Tanner said softly from behind Q’s back.

“Not now, Bill. My agent is missing.” Q said without turning around.

Bill Tanner shifted awkwardly on his heels. He coughed and stepped closer. “Q, please. I need to speak to you privately.”

Q turned and looked at Bill’s face. There was resignation in Bill’s blue grey eyes.

“Don’t even try, Bill.” Q said calmly. “I know he is not dead.”

“Q, the Amsterdam police have been through the wreckage. There were two bodies. The driver and the passenger. Bond’s clothes and identification were in the car.”

“And the bodies? Are they identifiable?”

“Well . . . no. They were burned beyond recognition.” Tanner said.

“Don’t you think it is odd that Bond’s identification survived but the body didn’t? It’s not him. I know it’s not him. Now let me do my job.” Q turned back to his computer and replayed the video again.

Tanner watched for a moment then turned to R. The woman shrugged her shoulders and returned back to her communication with 006 in Moscow.

Two hours later, Dr. Farris had entered Q Branch. Q was working on tracking cars that left the airport at the same time that James’ taxi had. He was tracking any car that had been within ten feet of the taxi. Dr. Farris stepped up and positioned herself directly in front of Q, blocking his view of the screens.

“Q, you need to stop. I need you to come to Medical. We can help you this time with the ‘Grieving Heat’.” The woman said.

Q looked confused at her for a moment. “Grieving Heat, what are you talking about?”

“Your ‘Grieving Heat’. We can give you the medication this time. You won’t need to bond with anyone to survive it.”

“I’m already bonded. James is not dead. I won’t be needing your assistance, doctor.” Q said firmly.

“Q, you are to go with Dr. Farris to Medical, now.” M’s voice boomed over Q Branch.

Q spun and saw M standing next to Tanner.

“Sir, I need to be here. I know this looks bad but we must find him.”

“That was an order, Quartermaster.” M said firmly.

Q narrowed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Believe me when I say, I know Bond is alive. This is not like Alex. I don’t feel the same way. I know James is alive. Sokolov somehow knew he was coming and got the jump on him.”

“Or he died in a simple motor vehicle accident and you are in denial.” M said sympathetically.

“I’m not in denial.” Q growled.

M sighed and glanced around at the members of Q Branch watching the exchange. Expectant faces were pleading with him to do something for Q. M turned back.

“If you do not go to Medical immediately, I will have security escort you there.”

Q hesitated then turned to R. “I want updates on the computer searches I’ve initiated. Hack into the investigation of the accident. I want the DNA results from the autopsies as soon as they have been entered. Also . . .”

“Quartermaster . . .” M warned.

Q glared at the man then turned to R. “I will be in Medical if you need me. I expect to be kept informed.”

Q marched pass M and Tanner and out of his department. Dr. Farris was waiting for Q once he slammed the double doors of Medical open.

“Let’s make this fast, please, Dr. Farris. I’m needed elsewhere.” Q said.

“Danny, I need to give you an examination and determine how advance your ‘Grieving Heat’ is.”

Q wanted to scream at the woman. He balled his fists and took a deep breath. Slowly, he released it as he started to recite Pi out to tenth place. When he was done he spoke.

“I sincerely do not understand what is so difficult for everyone to comprehend. I’m not in my ‘Grieving Heat’. James is not dead.”

Tanner had followed Q into the department. He stepped closer to the doctor and the omega.

“Q you are ignoring the facts. The facial recognition on the driver was negative. He was not a known bad guy. The ‘VIN’ number on the taxi matched the ‘VIN’ number on the wreck. The contents of Bond’s suitcase was strewn across the highway. His identification was at the wreck. James is dead.”

Q turned and looked at the man. “Bill, you were with me when Alex was shot. You saw how I reacted . . . how it affected me. I’m telling you, that’s not happening this time. I still feel James with me. I know he is still alive.”

“Danny, your relationship with Bond was not a normal one. The two of you didn’t live as a normal alpha omega couple.” Dr. Farris said.

Q almost told her that everything had changed but decided against it. It would just give the woman more reason to hold Q in Medical when he really needed to be looking for James.

“If that is what you believe, then the severity of my ‘Grieving Heat’ should be quite low. Not life threatening.”

“Well, yes. That’s true, but . . .” She started.

“But . . . I am quite in control of my emotions, Dr. Farris. I’m not going into heat. I do not feel any of the early indicators of it. No cramps, or hot flashes. My skin doesn’t itch. I’m not in any pain.”

The doctor’s eyes quickly scanned over Q’s body. The young man didn’t seem to be starting a heat at all. His skin wasn’t flushed or sweating. He seemed to be standing normally and not twitching with cramps or pain.”

“I still want to give you an examination. Once I’m done with that we will determine if you need the medication to reduce the effects of the heat.” Dr. Farris insisted.

“But if I have no indication of an approaching heat, then I will not take any medication and I will return to my search for my missing agent.” Q pressed.

“Agreed.” Farris said.

Q turned to Tanner. The chief of staff switched his gaze from Q to the doctor and back again. “Agreed.”

Q followed Dr. Farris into an examination room while Tanner went to explain the compromise to M.

~Q~

Dr. Farris found no indication that Q was going to go into a heat anytime soon. She informed M that it was more than likely because Bond and Holt didn’t have a normal relationship, Q’s body was not acknowledging Bond’s death and the broken bond.

Forty-eight hours later, Tanner knocked on Q’s office door.

“Enter.” Q’s raised voice came through the steel core door at Tanner.

Hesitantly, Tanner opened the door and hoped his friendship with Q hadn’t been completely ruined and he would be able to talk the young man into getting some sleep.

“Q.” Bill said as he entered and sat down.

“I have tracked all but three of the vehicles that were near Bond’s taxi just before and after the accident.” Q said as he kept typing at his computer. His hazel eyes quickly scanning every image across the screen.

“His body has been returned.”

“It’s not his body. The DNA will prove it. When will it be done?” Q rattled off quickly.

Bill sighed. He was relieved that Q hadn’t asked to look at it. “The fire was very intense. There isn’t much left. Only charred bones and teeth. Obtaining a useful sample will be difficult.”

Q glanced sideways at Bill. “Intense? But it was extinguished within half an hour.”

Q reached for his the phone on his desk. He quickly typed in a number and waited. His eyes fixed down at James’ fountain pen on his desk.

“Albert, Q here.” He paused. “A body was recently brought in from Amsterdam. Check it for accelerants.” Another pause. “I know who it’s been identified as but it’s not him. Check it out.” A pause. “Yes, and be quick.” Q hung up the phone.

“Accelerant?” Bill asked.

“A car fire alone wouldn’t get hot enough to completely eliminate tissue in half an hour. The body would need to be doused in an accelerant. More proof that it wasn’t Bond in that car.”

Bill pouted as he thought about it. “It could still be Bond, Q. It could have been the petrol.”

Q forced himself to not roll his eyes.

“Bill, petrol burns between 471 and 560 degrees. To cause the thermal damage you are speaking of would be much higher, 815 to over a thousand degrees Celsius. And take hours, not less than forty minutes.” Q explained.

“But still . . .”

“Please, Bill. You didn’t trust me before when I told you I wasn’t spying against MI6 and you were wrong. Believe me now . . . you are wrong again.”

Bill Tanner sighed and stood up. “Alright, continue your search, but get some rest first. You’ve been working nonstop for two days.”

“I’m fine . . .”

“No, you are not. I’m having the canteen bring a meal in here for you and I’m ordering you to rest for two hours. Then you can return to your search. If you do not follow my orders then I will have you taken to Medical and strapped down to the bed to sleep.”

Q wanted to argue with the man but knew Bill was more than willing to follow through with his threat.

“The couch folds out into a bed. I’ll sleep there after I eat the meal.”

“Thank you.” Bill said as he left.

Q returned to his computer and watched the video of James’ taxi pulling up to kerb to pick him up. He watched as the taxi driver opened the boot of the car and put James’ suitcase inside. The driver slammed the boot closed and both men got into the car and drove off. Q reversed it and watched it backwards. He watched it again, then ran it back further than he had before and noticed the taxi had been accidentally bumped by a motorcycle. Q paused and thought about the minor accident. The taxi driver and motorcycle driver shouted at each other but that was all. The taxi driver didn’t even get out of his car. He ran it forwards again slowly, then reversed it again.

Quickly, he searched for an image of the taxi after it had been burned. He zoomed in on the latch for the boot. Then he smiled.

The door to his office banged open loudly. Alec Trevelyan marched him and glared at the Quartermaster.

“Is it true?” he demanded.

“Is it true that James is still alive? Yes.” Q smiled.

Alec looked confused for a moment then collapsed in the chair opposite the omega.

“I’ve been traveling since yesterday to get here. Tarsa never showed up in Moscow. It’s like he got a warning and made his escape before I even got there. That’s been happening too often lately.” Alec said exhausted. “Anna told me that James’ taxi had been in an accident and he was dead.”

“There was an accident, but it wasn’t James’ taxi. I kept trying to figure out how they were able to get James out of the car and switch him for a dead man. But they didn’t pull him out of the car. They used two different taxis. Two identical taxis that had matching ‘VIN’ numbers.”

“How do you know?” Alec asked.

Q waved his fingers for Alec to come and stand behind him. He pulled up the image of the taxi stand and the image of the burnt taxi’s boot.

“Notice anything?” Q asked.

Alec looked carefully at the two images for several seconds. “No,” he growled.

Q typed a command into the computer and the two images switched.

“The same images but I’ve reversed the shade gradient. Light to dark and dark to light.” Q said.

“Like a negative for a photograph?”

“Yes. Now look here.” Q pointed to a mark on the back of the taxi that picked up James. There was a pale line running down the back of the car near the lock. “That is a dent. It happened just before he picked up James. The driver didn’t notice it because it is barely visible.”

“Okay.” Alec saw the paler mark on the now dark grey boot. He glanced over at the second picture. The boot was almost white but Alec could make out the lock and the where the dent should have been but wasn’t. “It’s missing. Could the accident . . .”

“Have you ever heard of an accident removing dents?” Q asked interrupting Alec’s question.

“Different cars.”

“Yes. And that means James wasn’t in the one that burned.” Q smiled.

~Q~

Everything seemed perfectly fine when he landed in Amsterdam. James’ mind kept slipping back to the night before when he and Danny had finally done more than just sleep in his bed. He wanted to find Sokolov quickly and kill the man so he could return to his Quartermaster and pull him back into bed again.

He was still thinking of Danny when the taxi driver turned around and shot him with a Taser. He remembered laying on the backseat of the car and the door opening up. He felt the pinch of the hypodermic needle then nothing until he woke up.

The room was dingy and dark. It had a worrisome smell to it. Like piss and sweat and omega fear. It made Bond’s anxious and aggressive. He was tied down to a bed. Not an unheard of predicament but definitely not one of his favorites. He was still dressed but his suit jacket and shoes were missing. His muscles ached and his head was pounding. He wished his had some water to drink.

His mind was still foggy. He tried to free himself but the rope tying him to the metal frame bed were too tight. He blinked his eyes trying to focus on anything but they wouldn’t cooperate so he closed them and fought off a wave of nausea.

Bond heard the voices outside the room. One was British and the other was Russian. He thought he recognized the British voice but he couldn’t focus enough to know who it was. He was certain the Russian voice was Sokolov.

“We warned Tarsa as soon as you told us MI6 had spotted us. Thank you.” Sokolov said.

“It’s a shame you couldn’t get that little bitch too.” The other voice said.

“It’s amazing he is still alive. The poison should have killed him.” Sokolov said.

“After the omega died, I was going to tell Alex Turner that MI6 was behind the poisoning. Give him another reason to hate them. But the stupid bitch survived. I must not have put enough of the alkaloid in the supplement.”

“You need to get back to London before you are missed.”

“What are you going to do with Bond?”

Sokolov laughed. “Make money. The bidding for the agent will start later today.”

Bond listened at the two men said goodbye. The door opened and Sokolov entered the room alone. He walked over to Bond and stared down at the agent.

“Foolish man. You should have known better than to come after me again. It will cost you dearly.”

Bond opened his eyes and glared at the man. “Where is your friend? The one you were talking to.”

“He is going to go back to London to take care of your bondmate. He has a thing about omegas thinking they are better than they really are.”

Bond fought against his restraints. Sokolov laughed and uncapped a hypodermic needle. He tapped the syringe and reached out and tore James’ sleeve. He didn’t even wipe the antecubital vein before he plunged the needle in. He quickly depressed the plunger and the milky liquid burned as it entered James’ body.

“WHAT WAS THAT!?”

“Oblivion.” Sokolov said as he turned to leave.

Bond noticed a metallic taste in his mouth as his heartrate increased. His limbs began to feel light.

Bond had been trained to withstand interrogations but it was difficult to hold out under narcotics. He blinked his eyes and tried to calm his heartrate. He needed to remain calm if he was going to be able to hold out under questioning. But Sokolov didn’t return. Bond was left alone as the veil descended down around him. His mind began imagine thing. His last cognitive thought was _‘heroin’._

~Q~

“You were right, Q.” Bill said as he rushed into Q’s office.

“Of course I was. Right about what?” Q was busy working on his computer. He didn’t even look up at Bill.

Bill Tanner glanced around and saw Alec Trevelyan stretched out across the sofa in Q’s office.

“It wasn’t Bond. It took time, but they finally found some viable DNA that they could use.” Bill said.

“We already knew it wasn’t James, Tanner.” Alec said. “The question now is where is he?”

“I thought you would like to know . . .” Bill started.

“Yes, thank you, Bill. But this is getting old quickly. How many times do I have to prove I’m right before you will stop doubting me? I told you he was alive. We’ve wasted value time. I need to find him.”

“Alright, Q. I apologize again. What do you have?”

Q sighed. “I’ve tried tracking the cars leaving at roughly the same time at James’ taxi but I came up with nothing.”

“Cars? What about trucks?” Alec asked as he sat up.

“Trucks?” Q asked then frowned. “Of course . . . how could I be so stupid?! They drove the taxi into one truck while another dropped the second taxi with the dead men in it.”

“You were also correct about the accelerant, Q.” Bill said. “Albert found aluminum oxide and elemental iron.”

“Thermite.” Alec whispered.

“It appears to have been placed inside the passenger compartment. It burned so hot we almost had nothing left to check.”

If Q was a lesser man, he would have given Tanner a smug expression but he was too busy looking at CCTV feeds from the airport.

The knock on the door, jarred Q out of his concentration. “WHAT?!”  

“Sorry, gov.” Margo said. She was shifting her weight nervously from one laced boot to the other. “I found something that might be important.”

Q dropped his hands from his keyboard and slowly closed his eyes.

“Yes, what is it?” His voice was much softer and more polite but there was obvious strain in his expression.

“A message I found in a chat room. _The seventh key to the empire is for sale_.”

“Who sent it?” Q’s eyes flew open as he reached out to his computer keyboard.

“Use Tor.” Margo stepped forward. “9-K-3-4-S-T-R-E-L-A-3 dot com. It will take us to a link with a shared encryption key.”

Alec laughed.

“What is it?” Margo asked.

“Strela-3 is a Russian surface to air missile.”

“Russian?” Bill asked. “And what’s this about the seventh key?”

“The seventh key is double o seven.” Q said as he and Margo kept their heads together watching the computer screen. “The empire is England. In short, a member of MI6 has just been put up for auction on the Dark Web.”

Q read through the comments then clicked on the message and the computer took him to an encrypted site. There was a clock counting down from forty-five hours.

“Can you trace the IP address?” Bill asked.

“No, I only see my entrance node. There could be hundreds of nodes between us and the website. Think of it like the child’s game, ‘Pass the Package’. We only see the previous and the next link in the chain. We won’t be able to trace where it came from. But . . .” Q paused and looked over at Alec then up to Margo.

“Open a bid?” Margo asked.

“A bid?” Alec stood up. “Won’t they know it’s from us?”

“No. They’ll probably know that we have entered the chat room. They might suspect it is one of us but that’s all they’ll know. Just like we won’t know who initiated the offer, they won’t be able to trace the bid back to us.” Q turned back to Margo. “Use Alec. He’ll know what to say.”

“Why 006?” Bill asked.

Margo and Alec didn’t wait for the explanation. They quickly left Q’s office and went to her secured computer.

“Bill, it’s time to start trusting me.” Q said.

“I trust you, just explain why it should be Alec instead of . . . you or Margo?”

“Vernacular.” Q said simply. Bill shook his head. “Alec spoke Russian before he could even walk. He learned English only after he went to school as a child. When he thinks, he thinks in Russian. Margo and I think in English and then translate it into Russian. It’s like knowing the difference between an American writing and a Scotsman writing. They may use the same words but they don’t necessarily use them in the same way or the same order. Sokolov will be able to know the difference of a Russian writing to him and someone who is pretending to be a Russian.”

“Why does the bid need to be a Russian bid?” Bill asked.

“Because Sokolov is still a nationalist even if he is a capitalist. He used the name of a Russian missile. He will always favor his own countrymen over anyone else.” Q smiled. “It’s perfectly normal.”

“Damn it, Q. Forgive me for ever doubting you. I’m going to report to M. Keep me informed.” Bill left in a hurry. Q turned back to his computer. He started to scan the trucks leaving the airport on the videos. He hoped he would find James before the time limit was up on the auction.

~Q~

The images in Bond’s dreams were violent and rampant. Memories of past missions. The faces of people he had killed. He tried to look away, but the heroin induced hallucinations were powerful. Slowly, the phantoms faded back into the recesses of his brain and he became lucid again. He was still in the dingy room. The windows were dark and it was night outside. He wondered how long he had been under the effects of the drugs. He was no longer tied to the bed. His limbs felt weak and his head throbbed. He tried to roll out and on to his feet, but his legs gave out and he crashed to the bare floor.

The door opened and Sokolov entered again with another man. Sokolov had another syringe in his hand. He walked over pulled Bond’s eyelid up, looking curiously into Bond’s pupils.

“Ну?” the second man asked.

“Soon, it will only take a few injections to get him hooked. Then he will be docile enough to handle. Much more willing to spill his secrets.” Sokolov said as he slipped the needle into James’ arm again. “Получить его обратно на кровать.”

The other man picked Bond off the floor and placed him back on the bed. He tied his wrists together then secured them to the bed frame.

Bond couldn’t fight the heroin pulling him under again. It was like plunging into a deep dark lake. Sound became distant and unrecognizable. He felt like he couldn’t breathe. A weight pressed down on him.

He heard a voice. Soft and soothing. Like velvet being dragged over his skin. He opened his eyes and he saw a man standing in the corner.

“Q?” James whispered. The man turned towards James and smiled at him. “Q, you’ve got to get out of here!” James shouted.

The young man in the corner stepped near the bed. He was smiling, looking down at James. James could feel his pulse rate increase. He didn’t know how Q got here but the young man needed to get away. Bond needed to protect his bondmate.

“Quick, untie me. We need to get out of here.”

The image of Q leaned down and started to work at the knots tying James to the metal frame. The door behind the dream Q opened and another person entered the room. Q appeared to not have heard them. He was still busy working on the knots. James glanced over Q’s shoulder and saw Alex Turner walking up behind Q.

“Q, hurry!”

Turner got closer and closer. He stepped right up to Q. The young man glanced up and saw the dead traitor. Q shouted for joy and stood up. He wrapped his arms around Turner. The two men kissed.

“Q! NO!” James shouted.

Q was kissing and hugging Turner. His long fingers dragging through Turner’s pale brown hair. Q didn’t see the other man pull a knife out. A long kitchen knife. The weak light in the room glinted off the bevel edge, and shined into James’ eyes.

“Q!”

The knife plunged down into Q’s chest. The red stain spread out across Q’s white shirt. Q collapsed to his knees beside James’ bed. The blonde twisted in his restraints trying to reach for the dying man.

“Q . . .”

“James . . . why? You promised to keep us safe?” the image of Q whispered.

James looked up. Standing at the foot of the bed was Olivia Mansfield, his M. Her face unnaturally pale and her normally bright blue eyes, dull and lifeless. She was wearing the heavy black coat he had last seen her in. Blood was smeared across her face and neck. Beside her stood Vesper Lynn. She was still wearing the red dress she wore that last day in Venice. Her wet hair pasted to her pale forehead. Vesper’s thin arms wrapped around her shaking cold body. Q stood and moved beside them.

“Look at what you’ve done to us.” Q whispered. “You promised to protect us.”

James closed his eyes as tears slipped out of the corners.

“Not real.” He whispered. “Not real.”

“You failed me, 007.” Olivia Mansfield growled at him.

“James . . . I sacrificed everything for you . . . I loved you.” Vesper gasped.

“Not real . . . go away . . . I want Q . . . only Q.”

He tried to think of something else. Something completely innocent. Something that wouldn’t bring nightmares into his mind. He opened his eyes and saw Q still standing there. But this time Q was alone. He was naked and standing next to James’ bed. His pale and flawless skin glimmered like it was covered in starlight.

“Danny . . .”

The young man slowly lowered himself onto the bed beside James.

“I need you, James.” The dream whispered.

James pulled on his restraints. He wanted to wrap Danny into his arms and hold him close.

“I’m coming for you, James. Please wait. I’ll be here soon.”

“I will, darling. I will.”

“I love you, James.” The dream pressed a kiss to James’ forehead.

“I’m waiting, love. I’m waiting for you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ну- well?  
> Получить его обратно на кровать.- Get him back on the bed.
> 
> For those of you who were worried that Alex would actually poison Danny, I hope you are relieved to know he didn't. But who did?


	17. No, I Want to Fall in Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bond is rescued and the traitor is exposed.

_‘No, I want to fall in love, with you’_

Q was utterly frustrated with the idea of having a briefing right now, but it was necessary. He wanted to continue the search for James, but the information that Margo and Alec had found was too important to let it wait.

“Are you positive?” M asked.

“Explain it again, Margo.” Q said as he forced himself to not roll his eyes at the man. His fingers tapped angrily on the desk top.

Margo’s large dark eyes shifted from her boss to the head of MI6 and back again. Most would have thought the young woman was apprehensive of speaking to such a powerful person as M, but in actuality, she was just as frustrated with him as Q was. She didn’t understand why she was wasting her time having to explain what she discovered again.

“Alec and I were communicating with the person offering to sell 007. There have been several offers made, including ones from the Russian mafia, a member of the Golden Triad in Cambodia, and a warlord in Sudan.”

“Nothing unusual about that.” M commented. “Bond has made enemies all over the world

Margo couldn’t help herself. She rolled her eyes. Of course the people who Bond had gone after in the past would be happy to have a chance to get their hands on him now. But more important was that Bond knew information about NATO as well as MI6 and her allies.

“There was another line of communication. Not involved in the bidding. It was in code. We have been unable to break it yet, but we know it originated here . . . within MI6.” Margo said.

“How long ago? Was it Turner?” M asked.

“No, it’s been since Turner was killed. Whoever it is, appears to have warned Sokolov that Bond and Trevelyan were sent after him and Tarsa.” Margo explained.

“We have another traitor.” Bill Tanner stated.

“Yes,” Q interrupted. “And if we go after Bond, they will know it before we can even leave this building.”

M hummed to himself as he worried at his thumbnail. “Then we don’t go.”

“What?!” Q tried not to shout, but he was quickly losing his patience’s.

“Quartermaster, of course we are going to go after 007.” Tanner said trying to calm the young man down.

“No, we are not.” M said. “We finally have the upper hand. We know that there is a spy right here within MI6, and they don’t know we know. We have an opportunity to stop this person and protect our agency.”

“Protect our agency!? What about our agents!?” Q shouted finally.

“Bond knew the risks. He will be the first to tell us to leave him there.” M stood up. “I want you to keep up covert communications with Sololov. Track every bidder. We might be able to locate numerous threats through this operation.”

“I thought this was a rescue operation.” Q said coolly. M ignored the younger man.

“I want to know when the traitor contacts Sokolov again. I want him found. If need be, we can start releasing false information and try to trace it back to the source.” M turned to his second in command. “Tanner, the Foreign Secretary has requested a briefing. Let’s withhold the information about the traitor until we are certain we have them identified this time.”

Tanner glanced quickly at Q, giving the young man a sympathetic look. He stood up and followed his boss out of Q’s office. Tanner taking notes as M gave orders. Margo turned and looked at Q.

“You aren’t really going to stop trying to get Bond back are you?” the young omega asked her boss.

“Absolutely not. But we need to keep it quiet. No telling what stupid orders we will received if they find out what we are doing.”

“Good, I didn’t want to be the one to tell Trevelyan we weren’t going after Bond.” Margo stood up and moved towards Q’s door.

“Margo, try and locate Sokolov’s location as quickly and quietly as you can. Once we have it, we’ll send 006 in to get him out. It will have to be completely off the books. Do you understand me?” Q raised an eyebrow at the woman. He hoped his trust in the young woman wasn’t misplaced.

“Absolutely, gov. I’m always looking forward to a little revolution.” Margo smiled and left the room, closing the door behind her.

Unconsciously, Q started to gnaw at his thumbnail. His mind running back to when he was a prisoner of Sokolov. The brutality the man showed him. Q was almost dead by the time James had rescued him and that was less than ten hours. It had been three days since James had disappeared. He couldn’t imagine what Sokolov was doing to James in three days. His only hope was that Sokolov needed James alive and able to talk. Otherwise the buyers would refuse to pay. But that left a lot of options open to Sololov to torture the man.

Q closed his eyes and prayed he would see James again.

~Q~

James slowly became lucid again. He was sweating and his mouth was so dry it hurt. His eyelids felt like they were glued together. It took effort to open them and try and look around. He was alone in the room. He was not tied to the bed but he felt too weak to even roll out of it. He held his arms up and looked at the injection bruises on them. There were several. Small blue-black bruises surrounding a bloody pinprick.

He felt his stomach lurch and he rolled to his side. Only spittle and bile came out as he threw-up. He wondered how long it had been since he eaten anything.

The door opened and Sokolov entered the room again with the man from before.

“Are we awake?” Sokolov laughed at him.

“Fuck off.” Bond said, he hoped. His tongue felt so thick he wasn’t sure it was working.

Sokolov and the other man laughed at him.

“Еще одна инъекция?” the other man asked. (Another injection?)

“No,” Sokolov smiled. “I think he is far enough along that he is now dependent on the drugs. He will be more cooperative with his new owners if he wants his candy.”

“Bastard.” Bond whispered as he closed his eyes. He could feel his body craving the heroin already. He balled his fists and wrapped his arms around his chest. If he had the strength, he would have strangled Uri Sokolov but right now, he was weaker than a kitten.

~Q~

“GOT IT!” Alec Trevelyan slammed open Q’s office door. The young man nearly jumped out of skin at the bang.

“YOU FOUND HIM?!” Q leaped up from his seat.

“No, I won the bid. We are to wire the money to the account Sokolov has given us and then we are to collect James.”

Margo and Alec came into Q’s office, closing the door behind them so they wouldn’t be overheard.

“But we don’t have the money.” Q said.

Margo smiled at her boss. “No, but I can make an electronic transfer appear real, once I know which bank he is using. I have a general idea where Sokolov is holding Bond, but I can’t get it closer than six miles. That’s the best I can do with finding a location for his IP. But, once I have the bank . . .”

Q interrupted Margo. “You can track any communication from the bank back to a specific location within that six mile radius. Excellent. Good work.”

“Let me get on the ground in Holland, before you send the wire transfer.” Alec said.

“We will have the location within minutes of the transfer. You will need to move quickly.” Q said looking at Alec, then he turned to Margo. “Get him kitted out. No need to document what he is taking. Let him have anything he wants.”

Alec smiled at that.

“I do like working with you, Quartermaster.”

“Just bring my mate home. Or don’t come back yourself.” Q growled.

“Yes, sir.” Alec winked. Alec and Margo quickly left Q’s office while Q decided how much of the operation he should inform M and Tanner about, if anything.

~Q~

The plan worked flawlessly. As soon as the wire transfer was made to the bank in France, another bank in Amsterdam withdrew the funds. Margo followed the transaction and was able to trace the request back to a flat in Egelantiersgracht District in Amsterdam. She contacted Alec and he was on the move.

Alec got out of the car driven by Anna. He didn’t want her here and had argued with the woman when she informed she was going with him. Alec was going to need support in Amsterdam and they were limited in options. The mission had to be kept from Tanner and M therefore another agent couldn’t be sent with Alec. This was a rescue mission and they weren’t sure what condition James would be in once they found him. Eve insisted on coming with Alec but it would be too difficult to explain her absence from MI6. Anna simply requested a short holiday from HR and no one though twice about it.

The bell on the tram rang out three times as it rattled down Rozengracht. The traffic was heavy on the street but over on the narrow road beside the canal, it was light. Mostly, bicycles and pedestrians. The tourists made it difficult for a car to drive down the street, let alone a lorry.

Alec walked down Prinsengracht. Across the narrow, canal tourists were already lining up to tour the Anne Frank House. Boats were moving slowly up and down the canal while tourists were snapping their holiday pics. Alec turned his face towards the shop windows in an attempt to avoid being photographed. In his pocket he had Q’s latest gadget. The EPM device that Bond never got the chance to field test on his last mission.

Alec turned the corner and down another narrow street. The sounds of the crowds around Westermarkt and Prinsengracht quickly faded to the background. There were no cars on this street, only the occasional bicyclist. He slipped into the alley between two buildings glancing up covertly at the two cameras focused on a red door and the entrance to the alley.

Q told him to just press the button, but Alec felt the need to at least attempt to aim the EMP device. He pulled the black box from his oversize pocket on his coat. The EMP device was pentagonal with a smoky dome over the top. He pointed one of the apexes at the camera attached to the wall above the door and pressed the glass dome.

The dome changed from a pale green to a dark red under the smoky glass. Alec heard a snap and a pop. He looked up and the camera was smoking. The wiring was burning with a white flame. Behind him, Alec heard a man start cursing. He turned to see a man in a small motorboat fanning the smoke coming from the engine compartment. Alec smiled. Q’s little gadget worked better than promised. But Alec didn’t know if it made it into the building.

It took Alec only seconds to pick the lock on the door and enter the building. There was a door directly in front of him and a set of stairs just to his right. From above he heard men arguing. With his gun already out, Alec silently climbed the stairs. The men continued to argue and Alec could smell acidic electrical smoke.

At the top of the stairs was a small landing with four doors leading off. The first door was open and Alec saw two men inside, huddled over their now smoking computers. They were arguing in Dutch and Alec didn’t know exactly what they were saying but it was obvious they were confused as to what happened to their computers.

Their arguing voices covered the sound of the silencer. Both men fell forward, crashing onto their computers. Alec twisted quickly to see if anyone would come out of the other three rooms. There was no sound. Even the normal noises of city life seemed to have been quieted.

Alec hesitated for a moment then went to the first door on his left. He listened then opened it. It was a bedroom. Two small single beds were on the opposite wall with a single table placed between them. The beds were unmade and the room smelled of cigarettes and beer. He made sure the room didn’t have any hidden occupants then went to the next door.

This door was locked with a padlock. He listened at the door but didn’t hear anything. He quickly picked the lock and opened the door. His gun swept the room while he hid most of his body behind the doorframe.

The room smelled of vomit and sweat. The windows had plywood nailed over them allowing in only faint streaks of light. It took a moment for Alec’s eyes to adjust and see James laying on the bed. The man’s clothes were soaked with sweat. James was shaking and wrapping his arms around himself as if trying to hold in his body heat.

Alec rushed to his friend and knelt beside the bed. “James!?” he whispered harshly.

“No, no, I want to dream, Q. I want Q.” James mumbled.

Using his thumb, Alec raised James’ eyelid and checked his pupils. They were tight and unaffected by the light.

“What did they give you?” Alec asked as he ran his hand down James’ body checking for injuries.

“Alec are you my imagination?”

“No, I’m their worse nightmare. What did they give you? Can you walk?”

Alec twisted James’ wrist and looked at the man’s forearms. The bruises from the injections were obvious.

“Get me the hell out of here.” James struggled to sit up.

Alec slipped his free arm around James’ body and helped pick his friend up. James tried to stand but collapsed into Alec’s side. Alec grabbed him again and pulled him close to his side. Together, they stumbled out of the room. Alec pulled James to the stairs just as they heard the door open at the bottom.

“Kirill! The cameras!” Uri Sokolov’s voice came up the steps to James and Alec.

Alec felt James shift in his grasp and his hand move around Alec’s waist. Alec raised his left hand with his gun in it. His right arm still wrapped tightly around James’ shoulders, holding his friend up. Sokolov ran up the stairs looking up at the last minute when he reached the top.

“Alexie!” Sokolov gasped when he saw Alec.

“Da,” Alec said as he pointed his gun at the man. “On your knees.”

“You won’t make it out of here alive.” Sokolov said.

“Neither will you.” James growled. He raised Alec’s second gun that the big Russian always kept hidden in his waistband.

Sokolov moved quickly. His hand reaching inside his jacked. Alec and James fired their guns simultaneously. The clap of the gunshot deafening in the confined space of the landing. One bullet entered Sokolov’s cheek just below his right eye. The other bullet tore through the side of the man’s neck. Blood gushed out of Sokolov’s body as the man tumbled backwards and over the railing. Crashing to the floor below.

“Time to leave, James.” Alec said as he dragged his friend to the stairs.

“Closing time already?” The gun he was holding dropped from his feeble grasp.

“You’re going to owe me a new gun when we get back to London.” Alec said as the two men stumbled down the blood covered stairs.

“Talk to Q. He’s got lots of them.” James mumbled. His head lolled from left to right, then fell comfortably on Alec’s shoulder.

Alec pulled James over Sokolov’s body and out the door. A crowd had started to gather in the street next to the canal. Angry voices as every electrical device in a thirty-meter radius had stopped working. Lights, telephones, cars and boat engines. Fortunately, no one noticed the two blonde men struggling down the sidewalk.

Alec turned the corner and walked back up Prinsengracht. The crowds of tourists were getting bigger and adding to the confusion. Alec had no way to contact Anna. He only hoped the woman was still parked where he left her.

Alec twisted to shout at the person honking a horn at him, when he saw Anna’s concerned face behind the wheel of the small car. Alec smiled broadly and half drugged, half carried James to it. He opened the back door and the two of them fell in to the backseat. Just as he closed the door, Anna drove off. Her horn still honking to move the pedestrians out of the way.

~Q~

A cold rain was falling in London when Alec and Anna got Bond back to MI6. James was weak and barely able to walk. He was rushed to Medical where a complete physical examination was done. Q was kept away from Bond, instead he endured a two-hour dressing down from M and Tanner about not following orders and misuse of MI6 resources. When he finally made it to Medical, Dr. Farris and Alec were waiting for him.

Dr. Farris started to explain Bond’s condition. “He is already showing signs of withdrawal from the heroin. He will have to go through detox.”

“But he’s only been injected a few times.” Q countered Dr. Farris’ diagnosis.

“Sometimes, it only takes one hit to become addicted. Given his age, and his smoking, he is actually at a higher risk. Add on the fact that he has been known to abuse pain medications in the past, I not terribly surprised he is showing signs of a quick addiction and withdrawal.”

“What do you need me to do?” Q asked feeling helpless.

“Patience. He is going to need lots of your patience. He will suffer from muscle spasms, aggression, fevers and chills and nausea. He will say things he won’t mean. Given his history, I don’t want to give him methadone to help with the detox. He’ll will be difficult to be around. He’ll need your understanding.”

Q nodded his head as he felt Alec slip a reassuring arm around his shoulders.

“Thanks, doc. We are used to Bond’s mood swings. We can handle it.” Alec said as he felt Q shiver slightly in his grasp.

Dr. Farris turned and went down the hallway. Alec and Q turned to go back into James’ room. The man was asleep in the bed. An IV was dispensing Narcon to counteract the effects of the heroin and Ringers to rehydrate him. Q stepped closer and looked down at his mate. James’ eyes appeared sunken. His cheeks were hollow. A thin layer of sweat covered his brow and down his arms.

Carefully, Q wrapped his hand around James’. The man in the bed woke quickly at the touch. He took in a sudden breath as his eyelids flew open. Q noticed he took several seconds to realize where he was and to relax. James’ bloodshot eyes turned towards Q.

“Are you a hallucination?”

Q gulped a cry and he smiled sadly. “No, I’m real.”

James squeezed Q’s hand tighter. Then he closed his eyes and rolled his head back as a wave of nausea washed over him.

“How long have I been here?” James asked.

“Alec rescued you six hours ago. You’ve been here at MI6 for a little over an hour.” Q said. “Are you thirsty?” Q reached for the plastic cup on the tray table. He held the straw brushing it lightly against James’ chapped lips.

James took a deep sip, then leaned his head back into the pillow, breathing deeply and slowly.

“There’s a traitor.” James said.

Q glanced over at Alec then back to James. “How do you know?”

“I heard him. He was talking to Sokolov.” James paused and glanced around the room. “Sokolov!? What happened to him?”

“He’s dead.” Alec said calmly from his corner in the room. His arms crossed over his body as he leaned heavily into the wall.

“You kill him or me?” James asked.

“We did. Although mine was the lethal shot.” Alec smiled sardonically.

“I doubt that.” James said as he closed his eyes again.

“What about the traitor?” Alec pressed his friend.

“I think I know him. His voice was familiar. He said . . .” James opened his eyes and looked at Danny. The young omega watched his alpha questioningly. “He was the one poisoning you. It wasn’t Turner. Turner didn’t know. They wanted you dead so they could encourage Turner to do more damage.”

Q paled. His hazel eyes filled with tears. “Alex didn’t do it? He didn’t try to hurt me?”

“Alex did a lot of bad things, Danny, but he loved you. He wasn’t the one who was poisoning you.” James said.

Q bowed his head onto the side of James’ bed. His soft sobs could be easily heard by the two men. James’ free hand reached over and gently petted the young man’s hair.

Alec pushed himself off the wall he had been leaning against. He stepped closer to the door.

“I’ll inform Tanner you’re awake and you heard the traitor speaking to Sokolov. They will probably want to question you soon, but Farris will keep them away.”

James didn’t say anything. He simply looked up at his friend and gave the man a slight nod of his head. It was enough acknowledgment between the two friends. Alec understood that James was grateful and would always feel indebted to him.

Alec closed the door silently as he left. The bonded pair sat together. Q’s cried softly as James gently stoked his head. After a few moments, Q lifted his head and wiped the tears from his cheeks.

“I’m sorry.” Q whispered.

“You loved him. You miss him.”

“I wasn’t crying about Alex . . . well, yes, a little. But no . . . I was crying because of you.”

James instantly looked hurt. He started to pull his emotions back. Q watched as coolness slipped across James face.

“No, don’t do that.” Q reached up and cupped James’ face. “You’re right, I love him, but it’s you . . . you’ve been there for me over and over again. You helped me and protected me. And now after you almost died and you are sick, you’re still trying to take care of me. You told me something to make me feel better about Alex. I loved him, but I’m in love with you.”

James began to wonder if this wasn’t another dream. That he wasn’t in Medical at MI6 but still tied to a bed somewhere in Amsterdam. He felt nauseous again and he closed his eyes as he tried to focus on his breathing.

“Don’t . . . don’t say things like that when . . .” He swallowed the bile that filled his mouth.

“But it is true, James. I’m sorry I didn’t say it before, but it is true.”

James opened his eyes and stared at Danny. James’ blue eyes were glassy with unshed tears. Q continued.

“I could feel you when you were held. I knew you were still alive even though everyone kept telling me you were dead. I knew you would come back to me. That it couldn’t be over for us. We have so much more to do together.” Q blinked back his own tears. “I want to live my life with you.”

“Are you sure?”

“Why are you such an arse, James? Yes, it’s true. I love you and I believe I’m correct in assuming you have similar feelings for me too.”

James squeezed Q’s hand again. “I don’t believe ‘feelings’ would be an accurate description. I know it’s a bad time to use the term but addiction is probably best word. I live to see your face and to be near you. To touch you and taste you.”

Q’s eyes grew bright. “If only we could start over again. I want to make this work between us.”

“I want that too . . . I need to be sure . . . about you.” James glanced away for a moment and Q could see more pain fill James face.

“What is it? What happened?”

“The heroin caused hallucinations. I saw things. People I killed, people trying to kill me.” James hesitated and turned back to Q. “I imagined you were there and you were killed. I couldn’t protect you . . . I saw my M and other people I was supposed to keep safe and failed.”

“It was just your imagination and the drugs. I’m here. I’m safe.” Q squeezed James’ hand.

“I’m not going to let anyone hurt you again,” James continued. “Please trust me. I need you to believe in me.”

Q saw the intensity in James’ face. He felt an electric surge dance across his skin. “I’ll believe in us, James. You and me.” Q smiled and leaned to kiss James’ mouth.

The blonde struggled to lift his arms and enfold Q into them. The two clung to each other and shared chaste kisses.

“I promise, I won’t be long.” Came the voice from the other side of the door. James stiffened in Q’s arms. His fingertips pressed hard into Q’s skin.

“What is it?” Q asked as the door opened and Gordon Morris, 009, entered the room.

Morris glanced around the hospital room as he closed the door firmly.

“Q, Bond. Glad to see you back.” Morris said. He sounded insincere.

“009? Hello, Bond is very tired. Dr. Farris is limiting his visitors.” Q said trying to pull himself out of James’ embrace.

The alpha was hesitant to let the omega go. His eyes were fixed on Morris.

“I spoke to her. She said it would be fine.” Morris said. His eyes fixing on James’ face. “Quite a remarkable rescue, 007. You should be proud of your little bitch.”

Bond shifted in the bed. His hand wrapping tightly around Q’s upper arm. His other hand flexed instinctually reaching for a phantom weapon. Bond said nothing but his eyes were fixed on his prey.

Q, on the other hand, was incensed by the insult. He stood up from the bed and placed himself defensively between the two agents.

“Morris, do you want to get suspended from fieldwork?” Q snapped.

Gordon Morris sneered at the young omega. He reached into his jacket and pulled out his handgun.

“Shut up, you little cocksucker. Pets should know their place and keep their mouths shut until they need to open up to service their alphas.” The man pointed the gun at Q. “Move away from Bond.”

“I knew I recognized that voice.” James said quietly from the bed. “You told Sokolov I was coming after him. You were the real traitor.”

Morris shifted his gaze to the agent. “I don’t think of myself as a traitor. Governments work for their own benefits ignoring the needs of their people. I decided to work for my own benefit, and ignore the needs of my government.”

“You were willing to sacrifice your fellow agents for money.” Bond sneered at Morris.

“At least that was something. That bastard, M, would sacrifice us for what? Information? A leg up on the enemy? What was gained when your precious Olivia Mansfield had you shot? Anything? No, only your name carved on a wall along with dozens of other forgotten fools. At least I’m going to walk away from here with something.”

Q’s hand moved towards the call button in James’ bed, but Morris noticed him.

“Don’t even try, Quartermaster. You can die first or you can watch your bond mate go first.”

“Why kill either of us? Why not just leave? Sokolov is dead and you could have escaped without anyone knowing about you.” Bond said.

“True, but I have a score to settle with the little bitch.” Morris glared at Q.

“What did I do to you?” Q asked.

“You’re an omega. You shouldn’t be here. It’s a disgrace they let you in the building, let alone give you a position of authority.”

“You must be joking? This is all because you are a misogynistic bastard?” Q scoffed.

“Does this gun look like a joke?” Morris waved the handgun in Q’s face. “And as for your mate, Bond. He has been a strutting peacock around here for too long. He needed to be taken down a peg or two. Sokolov promised me that he would ship Bond off to somewhere distant and I wouldn’t have to look at his sorry ass again. Fucking useless bastard.”

“You told Sokolov that we were sending 007 and 006 after him and Tarsa, didn’t you?” Q asked.

“He told me he had unfinished business with Bond. He wanted to make sure Bond suffered. And I was coming back here and finish you off, Quartermaster. I was planning on a long weekend with you at your flat, but Trevelyan ruined those plans by bring Bond back alive. So, I guess I’ll just have to kill the two of you here and now.”

“You won’t make it out of here alive, you fool. You were seen coming in here.” Bond said as he struggled to sit up in the bed.

Morris reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a syringe.

“Some of Sokolov’s prime stuff. Hundred times stronger than that shit he was giving you. Your little omega here was so over whelmed by you begging to get you a fix, he came in with a hit for you. But he’s an idiot and didn’t know how strong the heroin was. He accidentally gave you an overdose. It will look like he gave in to your addiction.”

“You honestly think you will be able to give me a shot without the two of us fighting you. And even if you do, what about Q?” Bond growled.

“Oh, that will be easy. You see, I’ve just came in here and found you dead and your omega distressed at having been responsible for your death. Of course, I try and comfort the Quartermaster, but he will grab my service weapon and shot himself before I can stop him.” Morris smiled like a shark.

“You bastard!” Q shouted.

Morris raised his gun and aimed at Q’s face. The door behind him opened and Dr. Farris entered without 009 noticing her. Her head was down as she was reading the clipboard with Bond’s lab results on it. She glanced up at the shouting and saw Morris and the gun.

She jammed the clipboard into the back of Morris’ neck just below his skull. The agent was knocked forward. His aim was jarred as he pulled the trigger. The gun fired but the bullet passed mere centimeters from Q’s head. Embedding into the wall behind him.

Morris cursed and started to turn. Terrified, Farris swung the clipboard again. The edge of the clipboard slammed into the side of Morris’ head. The corner of the clipboard hit directly; fracturing the fragile bones at Morris’ temple.

Morris collapsed to the floor. Blood running down the side of his face. The gun and syringe both fell from his shaking hands. James tried to push Q out of the way, but fell out of bed instead. His body still not responding to his commands. Q was knocked down to the floor in front of Morris by James’ falling body. Q’s hand landing only inches from Morris gun.

Morris’ hand flayed for the gun but Q grabbed it first. He pushed himself away from 009 and into James’ body. James tried to reach for the gun, but Q was already aiming. He pulled the trigger and the bullet crashed through Morris’ chest and into his heart. The man slumped to the floor dead.

Medical staff came running into the room. Farris had collapsed into the wall behind her. She appeared shaken, as she watched the blood pool around Morris’ dead body. Then she glanced over at James and Q laying on the floor. She snapped out of her confusion and rushed to them.

“I need help in here!” She shouted seemly unaware that people were already in the room with her. Together, Dr. Farris and three orderlies picked Bond off the floor. The blonde alpha refusing to let go of Q as they did. Then Farris rushed over to Morris’ still body. Her finger tips wedged under the man’s jaw searching for a pulse. She found none.

“Get him out here!” Farris ordered waving at Morris. “And security! I want security in here immediately! Where is that bastard M when you need him!?” She shouted as she turned back to Bond and Q. “Are you alright?” She wasn’t yelling but just barely.

“Fine . . . we’re fine.” Q said as Bond pulled him on the bed. “James, please calm down.” Q turned to his mate and allowed the alpha to pull him closer.

“What happened!? Why was 009 trying to kill you?!” Farris was shaking but she kept herself between Q and Bond and the dead man still on the floor.

“He was the traitor.” Q said simply. “James had heard him in Holland. He knew he had to kill us or be arrested.”

Orderlies removed the body. A nurse came in and immediately started to try and take Bond’s vitals. The alpha growled at her and the nurse backed away.

“Not now you fool!” Dr. Farris shouted.

Q was pulled closer and Bond started to scent the younger man’s face and head. Dr. Farris turned and saw what was happening and took several steps towards the door.

“Will you let Danny go so we can move you?”

“NO!” Bond growled.

Q twisted in Bond’s grasp and nuzzled in Bond’s neck. “James . . . remember, I’m here. I’m not leaving. We are safe.”

Bond’s grip on Q eased. His hand came up and dragged though Q’s curls. “You shot him.”

Q smiled.

“It was time I saved you instead of the other way around.”

James leaned forward and kissed Q’s lips. “I’m not keeping score, but I think we are pretty even right now on who is saving whom.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be a short chapter to end this story. Thank you all for the lovely kudos and comments. It is wonderful to know others are enjoying the stories as much as I am in writing them.


	18. Nobody Loves No One.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The grammar police will tell you that the title of this chapter is a 'Double Negative.' But it is also the last line in the song 'Wicked Games' . Therefore 'Somebody loves someone' . . . Guess who.

_‘Nobody love no one.’_

With the evidence that a Double ‘O’ had been spying against England, everyone’s security clearance had to be re-verified. Starting at the top. Every executive of MI6 had to re-vetted. Q went through a second series of interviews and interrogations to assure Whitehall he was loyal once again. He spent hours explaining why he had gone against orders from M and Tanner to save James’ life. Explaining every decision he made since he had become Quartermaster. Q went from Medical to interviews at MI5 and back again. If Danny Holt hadn’t been spending all of his spare time with James, he would have electronically erased the Foreign Secretary and everyone associated with him from every database available; from his assistants down to his gardener.

James was having difficulties with detox and rehab. The heroin had taken hold quite quickly and James suffered through withdraws. Q returned and found the man tense and defensive. Especially after the therapist from the Psych department tried to get Bond to talk about what happened. Q finally discovered that if he allowed James to immediately pull him into an embrace and allow the alpha to scent him then Bond would calm down. Q briefly wondered once how well James would have handled rehab if he wasn’t bonded.

“Why does scenting me calm you?” Q asked one day as they lay together on James’ hospital bed.

“You stink of them. I don’t like it.” James said calmly.

“Who?” Q shifted so he could take a subtle smell of his clothing. He didn’t realize he had a pong about him.

“The stuffed shirts at Whitehall.” James said as he pulled Q close again.

Q didn’t realize it was what he was going through and not what Bond was going through that was causing the alpha’s anxiety.

“I’m sorry. I don’t allow them to touch me.” Q said expecting the other man to say something. James remained quit as his chin lightly rubbed across the crown of Q’s head. “Do you want me to go shower?”

“No,” James hummed. He rested his cheek on the top of Q’s head and then sighed. “I’m going to quit.”

Q stiffened. He wasn’t sure he had understood Bond clearly. “I’m sorry?”

“I’m quitting and I want you to come with me.” James continued. His fingers pressed firmly into Q’s body, as if James was afraid Q would run away from him. “I’m aware M was going to leave me there to die. I know that you and Alec went against orders to get me out. That you were reprimanded for saving me. It’s ludicrous. Fucking stupid. They expect us to sacrifice everything for them, but they won’t lift a finger to protect us.”

“James? I would never leave you behind.” Q said as he tried to sit up. Bond wouldn’t let go. Q shifted in his embrace so he could look James in the eye. “You know I wouldn’t leave any of my agents behind.”

“I know, Danny. But MI6 ask for too much. I can’t give them any more. They’ve taken everything good away from me. The only thing I have left worth a damn is you. And I can’t . . . I refuse to give them you.”

Q stared at the man and saw the intensity in James’ cloudless blue eyes.

“Alright, what do you want?” Q whispered. Afraid any sound would scare the alpha.

“I want to start again. Start a new life away from here. Far from secrets and lies and insane psychopaths trying to kill us. No more torture. No more doubts. I want a normal life, or as close as we can get to one. You, me, and maybe . . . someday if you want . . . Please . . . please say yes. Say you will come with me.”

“Is that what you really want?” Q could feel his heart beating hard against his ribs.

“I know I don’t want this anymore. I don’t want to wake every morning wondering if this is the day they are going to ask me to do something I won’t be able to forgive myself for. I want to believe there is a way we can be together that doesn’t involve the possibility of being ordered to betray one another.”

Q laid his head back down on James’ chest. “I want that too.”

The two men lay quietly in each other’s arms for several minutes. James had thought Q had drifted off to sleep when the younger man asked. “When do we tell M?”

“As soon as possible.”

“Good.” Q squeezed James’ body with his arms.

~Q~

“You want to WHAT?!” M didn’t shout but only just. He was standing behind his broad wooden desk with his hands positioned on his hips in defiance.

“We are resigning.” James said calmly. Bond stood in one of his bespoke Italian wool suits. The elegant garment hung on his thinner frame. His weight loss from his time in rehab had been substantial.

It had been two weeks since he had been discharged from Medical. Q had asked his bond mate to wait until he could hand over the reins of Q Branch to R without too much confusion. Q and R had work covertly to arrange the transfer of authority without any disruption to the department. No one other than the two of them as well as James and Alec knew of the change.

“I refuse to accept it.” M said flatly. His face beginning to flush vivid red.

“I don’t believe that is within your rights . . . sir.” James replied calmly.

M’s watery grey eyes flashed over at Q standing beside his bondmate. Q was dressed in his brown Harris tweeds. He looked more like someone wearing their father’s suit than an executive of MI6.

“What do you want, Quartermaster? Do you honestly want to resign or is this some whim of your mate?”

“I honestly want to quit.” Q said. He brushed his shoulder against James, but didn’t move to grab the man’s hand.

“Is this because of the inquiry? You know you were exonerated. We found no reason to question your loyalty.” M tried to placate.

“There was no reason to question my loyalty in the first place. While I’m tired of being second guessed and doubted that is not the reason I am resigning. I’m leaving because I want to. I want to spend my life with my bondmate and I don’t want anything else to prevent me from doing so.”

“I don’t understand!” M growled. He picked up a pen from the desk and started to tap it against the wood like a drum stick. “What would prevent you from spending the rest of your life with your mate here within the MI6 family?”

Bond’s shoulders shook slightly with sarcastic laughter.

“Maybe the fact that this family, as you call it, has no problem what so ever of turning on itself.” Bond answered the man.

“Every family squabbles.” M snapped back.

“Yes, but not every family has assassins and computer geniuses in them. No, we are both resigning. Before you ask one of us to spy on the other again.” Bond leveled a piercing glare at M. Cold and lethal.

M blanched for a moment. His grey eyes fleeting back and forth between the pair. The fact that Q didn’t look shocked by the comment meant the young man knew M had ordered the agent to spy on his own bondmate.

M ducked his head and glanced around his desk, searching for a reason to prevent two of his most important assets from quitting.

“R will need time to prepare to take over.” M said without looking up.

“She and I have been working towards that goal. She is ready to take over the department today.” Q said confidently.

“We have missions planned for you, 007. Also, you should train your replacement.” M offered.

“The previous 007 didn’t train me and I thought you felt my methods were too unorthodox to be repeated by any other agents?” Bond tried and failed to not smile.

M’s fingertips shifted papers across the wooden surface on his desk as he fidgeted. Fighting for a way to win the argument.

“We need time to prepare for your departure.”

“R is ready. Bond is not up for any missions on the threat board. I cleaned out my office yesterday. We are packed.” Q said.

“Your office?!” M finally looked up at the younger man. “Why wasn’t I told?!”

“Well, obviously, you don’t have as much control over your agency as you thought.” James’ smile broadened. He took Q’s elbow and gently pulled the young man towards the door. “Good day, Mallory. Don’t call. We won’t be reachable.”

The two men left the office as the director sputtered behind them. The office door shutting on his shouts to ‘not leave.’ In the outer office, Eve Moneypenny stood up from her desk. She quickly rounded it and pulled Q in a hug.

“You better let me know where you are, do you hear me?” Eve said as she fought back tears. “I’ll miss you, darling.” She kissed Q’s cheek.

“I’ll miss you, too. But I don’t think it would be wise to let you know where we land. You know . . . Mallory and things.”

“Don’t worry about him. He’ll finish off his bottle of bourbon and find someone else to yell at.”

“As long as it isn’t you.” James said as he leaned in and lightly kissed the young woman’s cheek. “But now, my mate and I have a train to catch.”

James carefully pulled Q away from Eve’s embrace and out of the office. They took the stairs to the garage just in case Mallory ordered they be held in the lobby by security. Within half an hour they were in a train heading to the coast.

“Are you sure, James?” Q asked as he leaned into his mate’s side.

James thought back to when he had felt this certain before. It had been months ago when he was told that the man he had just shot was Q’s bondmate and Q was now suspected of being a traitor. James was positive of Q’s innocence then, just as positive as he was now of their future.

“I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life.”

~Q~

The air was warm and moist. The sound of waves lapping against the hull of the yacht was slightly hypnotic. It had been six months since James and Danny left London and MI6. They had traveled to Dover where James had a sailboat moored, waiting for them. They had sailed along the coast of France and through Gibraltar. They had spent the autumn cruising through the Mediterranean. When winter came, they were sailing through the Aegean Sea, between the islands of Keros and Naxos. As evening approached, they anchored off one of the smaller islands, enjoying the isolation.

The breeze was tousling Danny’s sun-faded curls as the two lay out on the deck under the sea of stars, naked and sated. His pale skin was honey gold and his thin arms were getting contours of muscles. The sun had darkened James’ skin to deep gold and his hair to pale blonde. James was more relaxed than he had been in years.

“Are we ever going back to England?” Danny asked as he nuzzled into James’ neck.

“Do you want to go back?” James asked. “Back to London?”

“London, no, but England is our home.” Danny rolled away from James and reached for his glass of fruit juice.

“England is technically not my home.” James said as he rolled to follow Danny. His arm sneaking in around the omega’s waist. His hand resting on the slightly swelling belly. “I was born in Scotland.”

“Scotland? Oh, Skyfall . . .” Danny moved so that James could curl around his body.

James’ fingers skimmed over Danny’s naked skin, moving slowly up the younger man’s torso. Danny smiled and giggled. They had spent another heat together, but this time Danny had not been on birth control. His body was beginning to show the growth of a new life inside him.

“Would you like to go there? I haven’t rebuilt the house yet. We could design one that would fit our needs.” James leaned forward and nipped at Danny’s ear.

“Our needs? You mean our new guest?”

James leaned forward and purred into Danny’s shaggy curls. He nipped at Q’s neck and shifted his hips against Q’s backside.

“Have you thought of a name yet?” James kissed Danny’s neck.

“Not for sure. I don’t like the idea of naming them after ourselves.”

“Agreed.”

Danny hummed as he lightly dragged his fingertips over the back of James’ hand.”

“How do you fell about ‘Scott’?” Danny asked.

“For your friend, Scottie?” James asked. His voice muffled in Danny’s curls. “I like it. And if it’s a girl . . . Eve?”

“If we don’t she might hunt us down, but I was leaning towards, Anna.”

“Well, in that case, we’ll need to have two.” James wiggled closer to Danny.

“We’ll need a big house.” Danny countered.

“I’ll build you anything you want, darling.”

“You would do that?” Danny opened his eyes bright and wide.

“For you? Yes. I would do anything.”

“James, you spoil me.” Danny twisted his head and kissed James’ mouth.

“Anything you want, my love. Anything, except . . .” James’ hand moved down and wrapped around Q’s hardening length. He pressed his own growing interest into the crease of Q’s butt. Rocking gently until the head of his cock nudged against Q’s entrance.

“Except?”

“Except, let’s never be apart again.”

Q smiled. He arched his back and allowed James to breach him again. The alpha sliding slowly into the omega’s body with an audible sigh.

“I promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the wonderful comments and kudos. It is very reassuring to have such support while writing a story. That is the thing I really love about fan fiction, the support and encouragement.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments welcomed. And a special thanks to ff_fan for beta reading this story.


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